Ice Castle.
"This is really creepy," Alex muttered, observing the scene before them. He was convinced that the building was not native to this world. Its architectural style contradicted the designs of cultivators. it was more europian style of castle and even that would be start of the reneaissance style of castle. Alex was really confused how did this thing appear here in the ice.
"Hey, Ran Yunxia. Can you tell me if you've ever seen a building like this anywhere? Maybe in books or from another era?" Alex inquired.
"Hmm... I don't think so. I've read extensively about past eras, but this is puzzling. I might be able to deduce more once we enter the castle," Ran Yunxia pondered and replied.
"Yeah... let's go," Alex agreed.
--
They arrived at a colossal door, a doorway of grand proportions that could accommodate around ten helicopters. Alex pursed his lips at its extravagance.
"Who would construct such an enormous door... and how do we even open it?" he mused aloud, scanning their surroundings. there was a handle on the door but it was way up in the center, it was very much away from eachother, Alex would need nergy to reach it.
"Well, let's search for clues," Ran Yunxia suggested as she cleared away the snow accumulating around the entrance. It seemed that some kind of forcefield was protecting the area, which had deteriorated over time due to the age of the building.
--
30 Minutes Later.
"Okay, fuck this," Alex decided as he approached the building.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
He punched a hole in the ice.
Then, he placed his hands in the newly-formed opening.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The colossal doors swung open.
"I should've done that earlier," he quipped before entering.
Ran Yunxia was left astonished. "Hah... we could've waited to see if there was an opening." She followed Alex into the building.
--
Inside.
"Wow," Alex remarked, his speculation falling short of the reality.
A grand hallway stretched out before them, complete with what appeared to be a red carpet underfoot, a staircase leading to the second floor, and an ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The entire space was enclosed in ice.
"I wonder... Did a ice storm trap them in here? Or is there more to it?" Alex questioned, eyeing an ice sculpture of a servant.
BSSSSHHHHHT!!!
Ran Yunxia conjured fire in her hands.
"Let's try to free them," she suggested, walking towards the servant sculpture.
BANG!
Alex intervened. "No, it would take too much time."
"Why not? We've got time," Ran Yunxia puzzled over his decision.
"They're likely deceased. There's no energy emanating from them. Without energy, unfreezing them would be challenging. Mortals can't survive this kind of freezing; they're not cold-blooded creatures. Unfreezing them without a specialized method might cause them to shatter. As for the time required, consider the peculiar properties of this ice—it's solid yet thin. Releasing them demands advanced flame manipulation, requiring significant energy expenditure and numerous Qi-recharging pills. It's simply not worth it. Let's explore elsewhere. This place is quite extraordinary," Alex explained before ascending the stairs.
Ran Yunxia processed his reasoning—it made sense.
Snuffing out the flames in her hand, she joined Alex on the journey to the second floor. She was curious to learn more about this peculiar place.
However, neither of them noticed a tiny crack on the servant ice sculpture they had just discussed—a minor fissure that had formed.
--
Second floor.
This level dwarfed the first in size, featuring a corridor leading to a substantial door. The hallway comprised solely of a pathway and a door.
"Another door?" Alex approached the door and gripped its handles. Unlike the previous door, this one was considerably smaller.
BAAANGG!!!
The ice blocks gave way as he swung the door open.
"Holy...!" He stared into a vast, elongated room, an immense throne positioned at the far end. He was dumbfounded; this room was...
"A king's chamber?" He mumbled, glancing at Ran Yunxia.
"Do you know what this is?" he inquired.
"I... I don't. I've never seen a building like this before, not even in the historical eras I've read about," she admitted, her gaze transfixed on the room.
Alex nodded and ventured into the chamber.
Paintings adorned the walls, armored individuals kneeling before the throne —and servants were bearing trays. Statues of regal figures were mounted on the walls, many of them standing on podiums, evoking images of absolute monarchs.
"What were they doing before they were frozen?" Alex mused aloud, struggling to discern the true nature of the scenario. The atmosphere in the room shifted between one of revelry below and a military assembly above. The contrast was baffling.
Reaching the throne, Alex made a discovery.
"Hmm? A girl? So, this isn't a king's chamber," he noted, studying the beautiful girl depicted on the throne. The ice sculpture concealed the true colors of her hair and eyes, yet her exquisite features were undeniable.
"Remarkable..." Ran Yunxia's voice wavered with admiration. She admired the ornate dress and the beauty captured in ice, her eyes gleaming with fascination.
"Hmm? There's a door behind the throne," Alex observed. "The layout of this castle baffles me." He moved towards the door.
BANG!!!
With a swift motion, he swung the door open.
"Wow..." The expanse before them stretched into a lengthy corridor, with a linear red carpet running down its length.
"Okay... this is impossible, what the heck..." Alex muttered, completely puzzled. The corridor seemed impossibly long—stretching over 80 miles. He struggled to reconcile this reality. he could see full length of this castle very well from the putside, it wasn't stretched like this at all, it was like a normal castle.
"Perhaps there's a spatial expansion array at play here," Ran Yunxia hypothesized.
"Yeah..." Just before they entered the corridor, Alex heard something.
Turning back, he glanced at one of the sculptures.
"What's wrong?" Ran Yunxia asked, perplexed.
Stepping towards the ice sculpture of a servant, Alex focused intently, he smiled and said "Interesting..." He grinned and uttered, "[Mountain Shatter Fist [10 Mountains] Max]." He unleashed a swift punch...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
End Of Chapter.