237: Chapter 237 The Giant's Secret, the Key to the Upper Level

Lu Cheng looked at the "intact" city gate before him and raised a hand to rub his brow.

"With this kind of Formation, if we can't destroy the core, this is the only way."

Su Wan stood by his side, a wisp of cold air condensing at her fingertips.

"At least we saw the real terrain for a moment just now."

Lu Cheng nodded.

"Knowing how to get in is enough."

He closed his eyes and recalled the scene from that moment in his mind.

The real city gate had already collapsed.

Beneath the wall on the left was a breach that had been smashed open. The gap was obscured by broken stones and snow, and from the outside of the illusion, it looked like a smooth, unbroken wall.

Lu Cheng walked to the left side and reached out to touch the wall.

Where his palm landed, it looked smooth and intact.

But in his perception through the Yueyao Pulse, there was a void there.

He punched down. Bang!

The intact white stone wall before him trembled slightly, without showing any cracks.

The illusion still maintained its complete appearance.

But Lu Cheng's fist had already passed through that layer of false wall and struck the real rubble.

The snow collapsed, and a dark opening was revealed.

Su Wan looked toward the breach. "Here."

Snow Spirit immediately jumped over, her small claws gripping the edge of the broken stone as she peeked inside.

Lu Cheng bent down and entered the breach. Su Wan followed behind.

The moment they passed through the opening, the scene before them changed again.

The bustling streets seen from the outside vanished. The real old city unfolded before them.

The streets were shattered, paving stones upturned, and many places were pierced by black ice crystals.

Most of the buildings on both sides had collapsed, and the walls bore the remnants of marks left by immense force.

Some houses were torn in half at the waist, and one could still see rotting furniture and shattered fireplaces inside.

In the distance, high towers were broken, bridges were tilted, and the statue in the center of the square was left with only half a body.

However, the illusion did not completely dissipate.

As they walked a few steps forward, the street would briefly return to a neat appearance.

Shattered houses turned into complete shops, broken statues turned into armored kings, and blurry figures would even appear on the empty square.

Those figures made no sound. They wore clothes from the old era and walked back and forth on the streets.

The next second, the wind and snow blew by, and the figures shattered into ice dust.

Su Wan watched those phantoms, her expression slightly heavy. "The memories of the old city before it died have been preserved by the Formation."

Lu Cheng scanned his surroundings. "The core of the Formation should be in the center of the city."

Su Wan looked up at the tallest building in the distance. It was a slender, high tower.

The tower was silvery-white, with layers of Frost Moon patterns wrapped around its exterior.

Even under the cover of the illusion, the tower radiated a sense of coldness.

It did not change its appearance as frequently as the surrounding buildings. Whether in reality or in the illusion, it stood there. Frost Moon Tower.

The two moved along the street. There were no monsters along the way.

Occasionally, a few Ice Shell Beasts hiding in the ruins would pounce out, and Lu Cheng would deal with them casually.

The real trouble was the illusion.

A few times, what looked flat ahead was actually a deep, collapsed pit. Other times, what was clearly a ruined wall was disguised by the illusion as a passageway, leading people into a dead end.

Snow Spirit became the most crucial scout.

The star pattern on her forehead would light up from time to time, and whenever she discovered severe overlapping of illusions, she would exhale a bit of silver-blue fox fire.

After the fox fire swept through, the real scenery would briefly reveal itself. Relying on Snow Spirit, they avoided several traps and soon arrived before Frost Moon Tower.

Seen up close, this tower was even taller than imagined.

The tower base was made of huge black stones, and the exterior was covered with a layer of silvery-white ice crystals. The gate was half-open, and ice mist continuously surged from the cracks in the door.

A broken Frost Moon was carved on the door. The pattern was identical to the key Seal provided by Frostbone Fortress.

Su Wan took out the bone fragment key Seal and pressed it into the groove in the center of the gate. Click. A sound of gears turning came from deep within the stone gate.

The Seal runes that had been silent for many years lit up one by one, then extinguished one by one. Finally, the gate slowly opened.

An aura even colder than the outside air rushed toward them.

Lu Cheng raised his hand and released a wisp of Eternal Calamity Flame. The black-red firelight danced on his palm, and the surrounding ice mist immediately retreated. "Let's go in."

The space inside the tower was huge. The center of the first floor was a circular hall.

The floor was covered in runes, and many white stone pillars stood around the walls. Blue crystals were embedded at the tops of the stone pillars, but most were already shattered.

The residual light shone on the floor, making the entire hall appear cold and empty.

Lu Cheng looked up. The spiral staircase that should have led to the upper levels had been sealed off by thick ice.

The surface of the ice layer was covered with black patterns, like some kind of Seal.

Su Wan walked over and touched the ice surface with her fingertip. The next moment, she frowned slightly. "It's very hard."

Lu Cheng walked to the sealed staircase and threw a punch. Boom! The entire tower shook.

However, the ice layer only cracked with tiny lines, and it was quickly repaired by white light. Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow.

He tried again. This time, his Gold Luminary Pulse also lit up.

As his fist force landed, the cracks in the ice were deeper, but in less than a breath, the Seal runes lit up again, repairing the damage.

"Can't break it..." Lu Cheng hadn't expected such a building in a place like this...

He looked to the other side of the hall. There was a staircase leading downward. Cold air was surging up from below.

"Then let's go down and take a look first..."

The two moved down along the staircase. The further down they went, the lower the temperature inside the tower became.

The runes on the walls gradually changed from Frost Moon patterns to more complex experimental engravings.

In some places, one could still see the wreckage of transparent capsules, inside which remained huge bone fragments and ruptured crystal cores. Rusted equipment was scattered on the ground.

After continuing to walk down for a long time, the end of the staircase suddenly opened up. The bottom of the tower was actually a huge underground space.

The ceiling was shockingly high, as if the entire underground of the city had been hollowed out. Countless icicles hung down from above, while the ground was covered with giant railway tracks and circular Seal platforms.

In the center of those Seal platforms stood massive figures. Frost Giants.

There was more than one. In front, there were at least seven twenty-meter-tall Frost Giants standing quietly on the Seal platforms.

Their entire bodies were covered in white frost, and cold blue crystal cores could be vaguely seen in their chests. Some had missing arms, with rusted chains still embedded in their shoulders. Others had their heads hanging low, as if they had been dead for many years.

Deep within the underground space, there were even more huge shadows submerged in the ice mist.

Lu Cheng looked at this scene, his brow twitching. "No way... is this for real? Are they still alive?"

These things had existed for who knows how long. Su Wan's fingers tightened slightly. She could feel that there were still energy reactions within those giants. They were just extremely weak.

Just as Lu Cheng stepped into the Seal field, the runes on the ground suddenly lit up. Streaks of white light spread from under his feet, connecting to all the Seal platforms. The chains that had been silent for years vibrated simultaneously.

The first Frost Giant raised its head. Immediately followed by the second. The third.

Seven pairs of blue eyes lit up in the ice mist one after another. A heavy breathing sound echoed in the underground space. Boom!

The foremost Frost Giant broke the ancient chains on its arms and stepped off the Seal platform. The ground shook violently. The other giants also began to move.

Su Wan raised her hand, and ice crystals condensed in front of her. "They are awake."

Lu Cheng took a deep breath, and the Holy Dragon Armament covered his entire body. "I can see that." Flame Demon Transformation activated.

Black-red flames ignited at the bottom of the tower, burning away a large area of the surrounding cold mist. "Su Wan, control their legs."

Su Wan nodded. The phantom of the Ice Emperor Soul Map briefly appeared behind her. Thirty-six ice crystals flew out, laying down a blockade line on the ground.

When the first Frost Giant stepped into the blockade line, its ankles were instantly entangled by ice crystals.

Lu Cheng's figure dashed out. His Gold Luminary Pulse lit up, and his fist, carrying black-red flames, smashed into the giant's knee. Boom! That giant leg was blown apart halfway on the spot.

The Frost Giant lost its balance and fell to its knees with a crash. Lu Cheng used the momentum to leap up, rushing toward the core in its chest.

Another giant swung its arm horizontally to smash him. Hundred Shadow Killing Formation deployed.

Dozens of shadow Clones pounced out from the shadows of the icicles, holding onto that giant arm with all their might. The shadow bodies were constantly shattered, and the backlash force stacked layer by layer, exploding cracks onto the giant's arm.

Su Wan stood in the back, her eyes calm. Her ice crystals did not seek to kill, but only focused on restricting the giants' movements. Freezing the ankles. Sealing the joints. Interfering with vision. Letting Lu Cheng get closer to the core faster.

Snow Spirit was not idle either. She jumped onto a broken rail and exhaled silver-blue fox fire. The fox fire entangled the ground runes, briefly interfering with the power supply of the Seal field. The movements of several giants that were just about to fully awaken slowed down by a beat.

Lu Cheng seized the Opportunity. Eternal Calamity Flame poured into the chest of the first giant. His five fingers clamped onto the cold blue core. Crack! The core was crushed by force. The giant fell.

The second one pounced immediately after. Lu Cheng leaped from the shoulder of the fallen giant and punched through the throat bone of the second giant. Black-red flames poured in from the neck, burning all the way along the chest cavity to the core.

The third giant swung its broken chains, and the chains swept across half of the underground space. Su Wan raised her hand, and an ice crystal wall stood up. The chains shattered the ice wall, but were delayed for a moment.

Lu Cheng rushed out from the shattered ice, and his Gold Luminary Pulse fist force pierced through its chest armor.

The battle lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour. The bottom of the tower shook continuously. Icicles collapsed, rails twisted, and the Seal platforms shattered one after another. When the last Frost Giant fell, the underground space finally returned to silence.

Lu Cheng stood amidst the ice remains, his chest heaving. Flame Demon Transformation gradually receded. For this kind of large-sized General-level monster, one was not difficult. Seven waking up together was indeed quite draining.

Su Wan walked over, her face also somewhat pale. She had continuously maintained the ice crystal blockade, and her consumption of Source Power was great.

Everyone's gaze turned toward a small room at the edge of the underground space... "Let's go take a look," Lu Cheng said.

Old City script was carved on the door. The two walked in. The records room was preserved fairly well. There were many stone tablets and crystal chips on the walls. On the central table lay several volumes of experimental records encased in ice.

Su Wan broke the outer ice shell and flipped through the text on them. She recognized this ancient script. Lu Cheng stood by her side. "What does it say?"

Su Wan looked at it for a long time before speaking: "This place used to be the experimental zone of the old city."

"During the old city era, the Snow Field was not exactly like it is now."

"Later, the corruption descended, and a cold wave covered the land."

"A portion of the people and creatures mutated and became monsters."

"In order to resist the monsters, the researchers of the old city began to collect mutant genes, attempting to create weapons capable of fighting in extreme cold and corruption."

She turned a page. "What they initially made were enhanced soldiers."

"The failure rate was very high. Many test subjects lost their sanity."

"Later, they turned their target toward gigantic creatures."

"By fusing mutant genes, the Snowplain Tribe's gemstone power supply System, and ancient mechanical skeletons, by sheer Opportunity, they created the Frost Giants."

Lu Cheng looked at the fallen Frost Giants outside. "And then they lost control?"

Su Wan continued reading. "The records say that the combat power of the Frost Giants far exceeded expectations."

"Ordinary mutants could not fight against them."

"But the giants possessed a strong energy hunger and would develop an instinct to attack central towers, blue crystal veins, and warm stone Systems."

"The control runes failed many times."

"Eventually, the first batch of Frost Giants broke through the experimental zone during a Cold Attack, destroying the city's defense line. The old city fell."

She closed the records. "That's about it."

Lu Cheng frowned. "Since they were out of control, why were they all placed here together?"

This question was crucial. After the Frost Giants destroyed the old city, logically they should have scattered and left. Yet those seven just now were all standing on the Seal platforms.

Su Wan looked toward the depths of the records room. There was another small door there. Behind the door was a faint light from runes. "Perhaps there is an answer behind there."

Lu Cheng pushed open the small door. Inside was a control room. The space was not large, and a broken crystal screen was embedded in the wall. Below the crystal screen was a stone platform.

In the center of the stone platform was inserted a Frost Moon key Seal. It was similar in shape to the key Seal given to them by Frostbone Fortress, only more complete.

Just as Lu Cheng walked closer, the runes on the stone platform suddenly lit up. A fragmented image emerged.

In the image was a scholar from the old city wearing white robes. His figure flickered constantly, and his voice was intermittent.

"Sealing successful..." "Giants number seven through thirteen have been re-incorporated into the tower bottom Seal field..." "Royal Court directive confirmed..." "Frost Moon Tower upper levels locked down..." "All survivors must not enter the Totem Room..." "The Totem has been corrupted..." "Repeat..." "The Totem has been corrupted..."

The image cut off here, and the control room returned to silence.

Lu Cheng rubbed his chin. "I didn't expect them to have such advanced equipment..."

Su Wan picked up the Frost Moon key Seal from the center of the stone platform and said, "This should be the key to the upper levels..."