The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu still wasn’t satisfied. So, he pulled out the black blade from the ground near his foot. He then connected the blade to the short stick. An eight feet long hilted blade appeared in front of his eyes as a result.

His eyes swept over the seventy or eighty feet high boulder that lay nearby. His stature flashed, and darted towards the boulder with great speed – as if an arrow had been shot from a bow.

Shi Mu was now only ten feet away from the boulder. Suddenly, he sprang-up from the ground, and pounced towards the boulder while holding the long blade in his hands in order to hack it down.

A layer of glaring flame flashed on the surface of the blade before it had reached the boulder. Then, the flame transformed into a blazing cloud of fire. Bursts of red flames scuttled from inside, and crashed onto the boulder.

‘Bang!’ A series of loud and explosive sounds continued to ring for a while.

Almost half of the boulder was blown into small smithereens within a fraction of a second. The flying crumbs of the boulder were wrapped in red flames. They quickly transformed into black gravels in mid-air.

‘Bang!’ A loud sound rang out in the air once again.

It was closely followed by the long blade that hacked at the remaining-half of the boulder. The boulder blasted into small pieces as a wisp of gigantic force plummeted down on it. A scalding airwave proliferated around in a violent manner. It filled the sky with tiny gravels and dust which started to flutter in the air.

The dust finally settled down. The seventy or eighty feet tall boulder had vanished from its place by then.

Shi Mu looked pleased and contented. He raised his hilted blade with both hands towards his shoulder. After that, he drifted away in the direction of his cave-dwelling.

Shi Mu stood in the living room of his cave-dwelling after a short while. He was gazing at the large and spacious area inside the cave. His heart became overwhelmed with emotions as he recollected every little detail of the time when he was merely a martial warrior. And now, he had become a senior disciple of the Sect.

“Mother, your son Mu will soon become a true warrior with an unbeatable spirit,” he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, an elegant and beautiful silhouette of a woman floated into his mind. His heart was stirred-up. He felt an urge to blurt out everything that was on his mind in front of someone.

But then, he had a headache as he thought of the clamorous parrot Cai.

“I got it!”

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind, and a trace of smile glittered across his face.

Then, he started to read an incantation loudly.

A mass of black smoke soon emerged in the hall out of nowhere. Yan Luo’s silhouette appeared in the hall thereafter. Two clusters of blue flames flickered in its eye sockets in an irregular manner.

Shi Mu was surprised to see a green flower on Yan Luo’s head. It was emitting a faint-green smoke.

Suddenly, the temperature inside the hall declined without any reason. Moreover, a wisp of inexplicable cold aura pervaded inside the hall.

The source of this queer cold aura was probably the beautiful green flower.

Shi Mu had an instinctive feeling that this green flower wasn’t ordinary.

“Yan Luo, we… can talk, right?” Shi Mu gazed at Yan Luo and asked.

The two blue flames within Yan Luo’s eye sockets throbbed as it looked at Shi Mu. A clear voice resounded in its mind after a short while.

“… Yes.”

Shi Mu’s heart fluttered with gladness. Yan Luo could only express his simplest thought. But, that thought was enough to make Shi Mu happy.

He was fired-up. He recounted how he had acquired the first place in the Sect’s annual competition in one breath. He also shared how his status in the Black Demon Sect had underwent a series of astonishing changes after he became the senior disciple of the Sect. In addition, he couldn’t refrain himself from talking about the Demon Witch of Tian Yin whom he had been missing a lot these days. He blurted out all these matters before Yan Luo.

Yan Luo kept on listening to him. It would occasionally say “Yes” or “Good” in response. But, it was still enough to fill Shi Mu’s heart with exhilaration.

Shi Mu then took Yan Luo on a stroll to show his cave-dwelling. He continued to introduce various things to Yan Luo as they walked. Shi Mu’s action looked like a host who was introducing his house to his guest; it seemed as if Shi Mu was taking pleasure in this.

They soon returned to the living room. Yan Luo tilted its head, and gazed at the black meteoric-iron blade; it was resting against the corner of the hall. The soul-flames in its eyes throbbed, and its body moved. A shadow flashed, and Yan Luo appeared in that corner.

Shi Mu was startled to see this.

Yan Luo then looked around while standing motionless. It stretched out its left hand, and stroked the black meteoric blade gently.

Shi Mu walked over to Yan Luo’s side. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. He asked, “Yan Luo, the flower on your head looks very beautiful. Can I take a look at it?”

“No!”

Yan Luo whirled around. The soul-flames in its eyes flickered. Then, a voice rang out.

Shi Mu was stunned. This was the first time Yan Luo had declined him for anything.

Then, a hint of a crafty and smiling expression flashed through his eyes. He took two steps forward to get closer to Yan Luo. He eventually arrived within Yan Luo’s reach. Then, his right hand moved towards the green flower on Yan Luo’s head.

The sky-blue soul-flames in Yan Luo’s eyes brightened-up. Then, its stature flashed, and it disappeared from its place.

It appeared in the middle of the hall the next moment.

Shi Mu thought of something. Then, his stature also moved. He chased after Yan Luo while mumbling something.

Yan Luo remained motionless. Its mouth opened slightly; it seemed to be making fun of Shi Mu for over-estimating his own capability.

But, Shi Mu arrived in front of Yan Luo in a flash. Then, his right hand again extended towards the green flower on Yan Luo’s head.

Yan Luo’s stature turned fuzzy once again, and it disappeared from its place. Shi Mu shot a white air mass from his right hand at the same time. It transformed into a chain of white Qi. It grasped Yan Luo, and fastened it firmly.

“Ha ha!”

Shi Mu burst into a fit of laughter. Then, his hand moved towards Yan Luo’s head to pluck the green flower off its head.

The soul-flames in Yan Luo’s eyes flared-up. A layer of white radiance floated on the surface of its body, and began to expand outwards.

‘Bang!’ A muffled thumping sound was heard.

The chain of white Qi was shattered into pieces. Yan Luo’s stature flashed at the same time, and appeared a few feet away from its original place.

However, the flower dropped from its head… probably due to its intense movements. It dispersed halfway, and transformed into a small green light. Then, the cold and gloomy aura pervading in the room almost dissipated.

Shi Mu was awestruck. He remained glued to the spot. His right hand still maintained the gesture of plucking out the flower. A green petal of the flower could be seen in his hand; a green radiance was flowing on its surface. Then, the petal in his hand dispersed in a similar manner.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

A cold and gloomy aura seeped into Shi Mu’s hand. It circulated within his body while streaming through his meridians. It eventually converged into his lower abdomen.

Suddenly, Shi Mu’s body started to shiver fiercely. But, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the magic power in his lower abdomen had increased to a great extent. He felt as if he had reached the peak of the sixth layer of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power.

The soul-flames in Yan Luo’s eyes flickered violently. It stomped its foot. Then, its body and the black Qi disappeared.

Shi Mu scratched his head as he saw this. He felt a little apologetic in his heart. But, his heart was set on fire as he thought of the wondrous effect of that strange green petal.

Suddenly, a golden gleam appeared in his eyes. Then, a moving scene emerged in his mind.

It was the image of a green mountain. A number of high waterfalls were suspended from everywhere on the peak – like bolts of white silk.

The scene started from a waterfall. There was a twenty-feet-wide winding road in front of it; it meandered all the way to the hill-top.

It was the image of the fifth mountain peak. A disciple of the Black Demon Sect was walking along the mountain-road; he was dressed in the black uniform of the Sect. He was walking towards the peak with quick footsteps.

Shi Mu’s brows twitched. The parrot Cai was transmitting this moving scene in Shi Mu’s mind. It had used its power to share its vision with Shi Mu.

Shi Mu generally activated this vision whenever he felt the need. However, Cai could also take the initiative to trigger this.

“Shi Tou, someone is coming. It seems like he’s looking for you,” the parrot’s voice resounded in Shi Mu’s mind.

Suddenly, the scene in Shi Mu’s mind moved. It then started to show the mountain-road.

The image of the disciple grew clearer in this scene. His facial features as well as his facial expression could be seen vividly now. He occasionally looked towards the cave-dwelling on the hill-top while rapidly climbing-up the mountain.

Shi Mu’s expression changed. This person had already left an impression on Shi Mu’s mind. Shi Mu had seen this person standing beside the Black Demon Sect’s Head.

Why would he show-up here? Can it be that the Head has summoned me again?

“Shi Tou, what does this man want from you? No, don’t say it first. Let this wise noble fellow make a guess. That’s right, you can also give me some green fruits if I make the right guess. I want to eat fresh food… ” the parrot’s voice resounded in his mind without stopping.

Shi Mu raised his hand, and shook his head helplessly. He then thought of something, and cut-off the connection with the parrot’s mind. The scene faded away from his mind at the same time.

The visual-sharing ability of this parrot was extremely helpful. But, its boisterous personality was too much for him to endure.

In fact, Shi Mu was a little fearful of Cai’s clamorous personality since he had let it wander freely outside the cave-dwelling.

But, Shi Mu wasn’t too much worried about this parrot’s security.

The parrot was excessively boisterous. But, it possessed minimal courage. It only dared to stroll in the vicinity of the fifth peak even though it had been set free by Shi Mu to wander anywhere. It never dared to fly a little further from this point.

A knock on the door outside the cave-dwelling was heard after a short while.

Shi Mu walked to the door, and opened it.

“Big Brother Shi Mu, I’m here to convey the order of the Sect’s Head. He wants you to leave for the Sect’s main hall. He has an important matter that he wants to discuss with you.” The black-robed youth looked at Shi Mu, and bowed to greet him. Then, he said respectfully.

“Oh, may I request the young fellow to enlighten me a little about the reason behind this sudden summon?” Shi Mu asked.

“This… I don’t know that,” the black-robed youth replied honestly.

“Well, I understand. I’ll immediately set out after I’ve wrapped-up a few things here.” Shi Mu remained silent for a moment. Then, he waved his hand and said.

The black-robed youth complied, and departed from there.

Shi Mu kept standing at the door for a while. He pondered over the reason why the Head of the Black Demon Sect had summoned him. Then, he left the cave-dwelling, and began to walk down the mountain.

“Shi Tou, where are you heading to?” The parrot Cai flew over to him as soon as he stepped out of the cave. Then, it landed on Shi Mu’s shoulder.

“I’m on my way to the main hall of the Black Demon Sect. The Sect’s Head has summoned me to discuss an important matter. You don’t have to tag along with me.” Shi Mu raised his shoulder, and shrugged Cai off from it.

Cai had been the Spirit pet of Young Master Ju for a long time. So, a lot of people in the Black Demon Sect must be familiar with it. Moreover, it would be inappropriate to let Cai’s special ability unfurl in front of the other people. Shi Mu didn’t want many people to know about the existence of this parrot.

Cai also seemed to have understood this point. Therefore, it didn’t insist. It fluttered towards other parts of the mountain-peak.

*** ***

Shi Mu arrived at the main gate of main hall after-half-an-hour. It was located on the first mountain-peak.

“Big Brother, Elders and the Sect’s Head are waiting for you inside.” One of the disciples of the Black Demon Sect was guarding the main gate. He expressed a gracious greeting to Shi Mu. After that, he said respectfully.

Shi Mu was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to see the Sect’s elders there. It seemed like an extremely crucial situation.

Shi Mu’s eyes flickered as he walked inside the hall.

A lot of people could be seen standing in the hall. A middle-aged man in a black robe was seated on the seat of honor. His skin looked smooth, and black hair was trailing over his shoulder; he seemed to be in his early forties.

The middle-aged man sat quietly on the main seat. But, his body was giving off an overwhelming force; so much so that every person had thrown a glance at him as soon as they had entered the hall.

Shi Mu gazed toward the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man heard his footsteps, and turned his vision towards him.

Shi Mu’s body trembled as soon as their eyes met. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

Suddenly, a fit of terror gripped his heart. He felt an ambience of unfathomable depths issued by the middle-aged man’s body. He was undoubtedly an Earth Grade Existence and the Great Elder of the Sect.

One of the Elders of the Black Demon Sect stood next to the middle-aged man; it was none other than Jin Xiao Chai.

Three more people stood in the main hall. Shi Mu was already familiar with them. They were the first-grade disciples – Qian Xiong- the second rank holder, Bai Shui Xiu- the third rank holder and Mo Ning- whom Shi Mu had defeated.