End of the Magic Era

High Mage Mafa, you… You are saying that we are in an illusion?” Hearing Lin Yun’s explanation, Thorne still seemed unsure. If the young mage’s words were true, then they didn’t need to face that terrifying magic beast.

But…

Just as he finished his words and was waiting for the young mage’s answer, gales began to burst in the surroundings, carrying countless ice shards and raising a white mist over a vast area. The scene before them gradually became indistinct, and space fiercely distorted. The first thing to change was the ropeway below their feet…

The ropeway that had felt extremely real to them had already disappeared and was replaced by stable ice, and the vast sea also vanished. It was all just the same field of ice that they were in all along.

In a flash, the gales carried away countless fragments of ice, leaving behind reality. The ropeway, the sea, the Heaven Rank magic beast, they were all fake. There had been nothing here besides ice.

“It really was an illusion!” Thorne’s eyes widened as he gasped in surprise. The sudden appearance of the Heaven Rank magic beast had made his heart skip a beat, but fortunately, it had all been an illusion.

But that illusion had been so real. Even he, a 5th Rank Sword Saint, hadn’t managed to notice a single flaw.

He remained standing at the same spot, looking at the young mage with an extremely complicated expression. Time and time again, he was finding that the young mage was far more complicated than he had thought and could always bring about more surprises.

“Oh right, High Mage Mafa, that treasure trove we discovered earlier, was it also an illusion?” Thorne suddenly recalled the valuables they had found in the snow cave. Back then, the young mage’s behavior had been extremely strange, as if he completely didn’t care about all that wealth. He had immediately made everyone leave without an explanation.

Now that they knew about the Snow Phantoms, he boldly guessed that that treasure trove had also been an illusion created by them.

It would truly be unfortunate in that case…

“Indeed…” Lin Yun gently nodded and couldn’t help forcing a smile. Back then, he had felt that something was strange, but he couldn’t be sure if it was a Snow Phantom playing a trick. In any case, he had forced everyone to leave, and when they entered another illusion, he was able to ascertain that it had indeed been the handiwork of Snow Phantoms.

However, those greatswords crafted from the royal workshop of the 3rd Dynasty, didn’t only exist in the illusion…

At the peak of the Magic Era, those crazy mages were able to figure out the theory behind the Snow Phantoms’ illusions. The study was very clear about something… Although Snow Phantoms innately had the ability to create illusions, they could only set up illusions of things they had seen with their own eyes.

In other words, those Snow Phantoms had once seen those greatswords, those other valuables, the Heaven Rank magic beast, and the ropeway above a sea area. But the Snow Phantoms only had the power of Great Mages, so they didn’t have the ability to leave this ice plane. Moreover, due to their special nature, they would be unable to keep existing if they left this icy environment.

The answer had already been figured out.

Several millennia ago, a group of powerhouses from the 3rd Dynasty really had come to this plane, and many Imperial Guards had died here.

Moreover, from the fact that they’d built a ropeway, they shouldn’t have been just to explore. They must have had a specific reason.

‘What was going on in the end?’ Lin Yun couldn’t help recalling the Raising Dragon Array. ‘Could that array be related to that group of people?’

But regardless, it was no longer important. He couldn’t waste energy on these old events. Everything would be good as long as he could smoothly obtain the other two Chromatic Dragon Crystals.

At this time, whether it was Lin Yun or Thorne, none of them noticed Lahn’s expression crumbling as he listened to their discussion. He felt like digging himself a hole to hide in…

He realized that everything had been an illusion and that he had done something very stupid.

There had only been one thought in his mind when he saw the magic beast swimming on the surface, and that was an urge to escape.

And he tried just that, but he was stopped by the young mage, which had caused him to let out all of his resentment.

But now he felt that his actions had been extremely stupid.

‘I truly offended the young mage this time…’

As he thought about it, he couldn’t help feeling a chill. He took a long look at the young mage, feeling full of remorse.

Not long after, Lin Yun’s group resumed their journey and kept walking on the endless ice field. It was very monotonous as they didn’t even see any landmarks. There was only the white sky and snow as far as the eye could see. The group just kept trudging on, hurrying towards the north.

The originally lively Lahn had remained completely silent. He was walking at the end of the group with his head lowered.

The others stayed close together. After experiencing the Snow Phantoms’ illusions, they had become extremely cautious.

“Quick, look, what is that?” Yuri, who was responsible for observing the surroundings with Mage Eyes at the time, suddenly stopped and pointed ahead as he shouted like he’d seen a ghost.

“That’s… a ropeway!”

Lin Yun gestured and sent a Mage Eye over. It floated in midair and instantly showed him what was ahead. He saw a ropeway stretching down to the horizon, linked to a lofty Crystal Palace. With one glance, he recognized the ropeway. It was exactly the same as the one that had been in the illusion, only the location was different. And that Crystal Palace, it made Lin Yun frown deeply.

“High Mage Mafa, this should be an illusion, right? Those damn Snow Phantoms…” After forgetting himself for a moment, Yuri regained his calm and ruthlessly cursed.

He clearly remembered seeing that same ropeway before, making him feel that it was yet another illusion created by the Snow Phantoms.

“It’s not…” Lin Yun looked into the distance with a heavy expression before slowly shaking his head.

“What? How could it be…”

Yuri wasn’t the only one surprised by this, but he was the first to react. He wasn’t convinced and felt that he should confirm it once again. He took a deep breath and asked, “You mean that the ropeway and the Crystal Palace are real?”

“Yes…”

Yuri’s eyes opened wide. Could there be something more shocking than a palace in this ice plane?

If there was a palace here, then someone had once been living in this plane.

“Let’s go take a look…”

After saying this, Lin Yun took the lead and started walking on the ropeway, his heart not as calm as he looked on the surface. He wasn’t shocked by the palace… He had actually discovered that this palace was the reason he came to this plane, because the last two Chromatic Dragon Crystals were in this palace.

Lin Yun’s group followed the ropeway and soon reached the front of the palace. After observing it, Lin Yun assessed that this palace had been built according to the style of the 3rd Dynasty. Those carved murals were lifelike, and only that era of luxury would spend so much on architecture.

“Let’s go in…”

The entrance to the Crystal Palace was hidden, but Lin Yun only took a few glances before he unhesitantly led everyone to cautiously enter the palace.

After entering, they discovered that the interior was extremely huge, and felt absolutely empty. They could hear their footsteps echo as they walked.

There was a lampstand every few meters on the walls, but the candles had already been extinguished.

However, just as everyone thought that this was an abandoned palace, a strict voice suddenly challenged them. “Who are you!?”

As that voice echoed, a bone-chilling aura spread in the surroundings and a white mist rose up, raging ceaselessly.

Everyone, including Lin Yun, was surprised to find that the palace was still occupied. They suddenly felt extremely nervous and couldn’t help looking for the source of that voice.

This crystal palace had been built with the style of the 3rd Dynasty, so it was at least a thousand years old. They had been startled when they first discovered the palace, guessing that someone had once lived in it, but it looked like their guess was wrong. Not only had someone once lived in it, but it was still inhabited!

Then…

Just how old was the person living here?

At least over a thousand years old!?

This was the true reason everyone was shocked.

Following that bone-chilling voice, they could all hear light footsteps coming from the depths of the raging white mist. They could then see a faint, hazy silhouette emerging from that mist. It seemed to be a young woman in her twenties, draped in tight-fitting white robes. She had fair skin and looked graceful. Her long silvery-white hair reached her waist, and she gave out a bewitching feeling.

The temperature within the palace suddenly dropped the moment the young woman appeared, and the white mist raged as frost condensed on the walls.

“Who are you?”