The Portal of Wonderland

The parrot Cai quickly gobbled-up the three fiery fishes. After that, a layer of red radiance bubbled-up on the surface of its body. The red radiance began to circulate over its body after a while. And, it eventually gathered into the feather on top of its head.

The feather exuded a burst of bright radiance. Then, it turned into fiery-red in color. This feather looked vibrant in the crowd of Cai’s other feathers.

Cai fluttered its wings, and started to issue cheerful cries.

Shi Mu grasped two more fiery fishes effortlessly. But now, his body seemed to have reached its extreme limit since it couldn’t withstand the flow of pure fire essence anymore. Therefore, Shi Mu couldn’t continue to absorb the fire essence.

Cai shifted its gaze. Its eyes twinkled as it looked towards Shi Mu. Shi Mu was still seated on the ground with his legs crossed.

His entire body was shrouded in a layer of faint-red radiance. The surrounding scorching air-waves were streaming towards him from all directions, and were converging into his body like hundreds of rivers. In fact, his body was emanating intermittent bursts of powerful magic waves every now and then.

Suddenly, Shi Mu raised his hands. Then, two white chains were shot out of his hands at the same time. They flashed into the magma, and curled out four or five fishes.

‘Bang! Bang!’

The five fiery-fishes exploded as soon as they flew to the top of Shi Mu’s head. Then, they transformed into five beams of red light. After that, they submerged into Shi Mu’s body, and turned into a tiny but fervent stream. Then, the tiny stream started to travel through his meridians, and converged into his lower abdomen. They then transformed into a tiny wisp of pure Real Qi, and wrapped itself around the cocoon-shaped Qi embryo. This made the Qi embryo even denser than before.

The layer of faint-red radiance glittering on Shi Mu’s body started to gleam after a while. Shi Mu’s Qi embryo seemed to have finally reached its limit. It ruptured with a loud sound, and transformed into a mass of turbulent whirlwind. Then, it started to spin extremely fast – like clusters of shining stars in the night sky.

Each tiny stream of air in the whirlwind was the wisp of Xian Tian Real Qi. It was the purest form of Real Qi. Shi Mu’s magic power also began to flow around the whirlwind. But, it seemed to be a bit thinner than the whirlwind.

Suddenly, Shi Mu opened his eyes. His face radiated with an ecstatic look.

A brand new door had opened in front of him. He had eventually succeeded in setting-up the Qi palace in the lower abdomen, and had advanced to the Xian Tian realm… a realm that every warrior dreamt of.

He had ascended from the Hou Tian realm to the Xian Tian realm; this was a very drastic change!

The Xian Tian Real Qi was purer than the Hou Tian Real Qi. The Xian Tian Real Qi could be released out of the body in order to injure one’s enemy from a distance. It could also be used in various other ways. The means of Xian Tian Real Qi attack was far better than the Hou Tian attacks.

In fact, a warrior’s life expectancy would substantially increase after they had stepped into the Xian Tian realm.

The usual lifespan of a Xian Tian warrior was four or five-hundred years. It could be considered more than enough time to pursue an even higher realm.

“Mother, your dear Mu has been successful. But, this is only the beginning. Your Mu will become much stronger in the future. He would also become the most formidable warrior in the world.”

Shi Mu’s eyes glistened with a firm and resolute look. He then slowly stood-up. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. A wisp of Real Qi gushed out from the Qi palace in his lower abdomen. It travelled through the meridians, and started to circulate in his body.

The surface of his body emanated a burst of dazzling red light – like a blazing flame. The red light surged-up violently, and emitted a fervent heat-wave. The hot air-wave triggered a wave of huge air pressure that spread in all directions.

The parrot Cai wasn’t far from Shi Mu. So, it fell prey to the massive current of fervent air. It issued loud shrieks. And, its body was blown away towards the side of the cave’s wall like a piece of straw. In fact, it was about to bump against the wall.

Fortunately, it responded quickly. It fluttered its wings fiercely a few times when it was only ten feet away from the wall. It quickly stabilized its body as a result, and prevented itself from knocking against the stone-wall.

Cai then flew around in the cave. It was about to issue bursts of resentful and whining cries.

Suddenly, Shi Mu’s hand moved backwards, and pulled out the black blade and short stick from behind his back. Then, he put together the long meteoric-iron blade. After that, he began to practice the Thirteen Series of Gale Force Blade Art while standing at the same spot.

The Xian Tian Real Qi had bulged to a plentiful amount in his body; so much so that Shi Mu could feel that it was about to spill out at any moment.

Thirteen distinct blade-shadows appeared around the blade every time Shi Mu wielded it.

He unleashed the Gale Force Blade Art to its acme with the blade in his hand.

The never-ending flow of blade shadows was so dazzling that they could make one’s eyes blurred with brightness. Shi Mu’s silhouette glistened amid this dazzling light. It seemed as if a dozen or more individuals were practicing the blade art at the same time.

Each blade light seemed like a stream of light. They moved in a criss-cross pattern, and looked quite dazzling.

Shi Mu’s terrifying Qi burst out, and proliferated in all directions… with him being the center. And, these explosions triggered a gale in the surroundings.

Several bursts of flickering lights could be seen sparkling on the ground. This made a few crumbs of stones roll-up from the ground from time-to-time.

Cai had acted in an extremely tactful manner. And, it had fled to a distant place. It possessed only a little bit of strength. However, each blade shadow carried enormous might with it. So, Cai’s body would’ve been severed into two segments even if a single blade shadows had brushed past it.

Shi Mu poured out a little more strength into his hands. This activated the two magic characters carved on the surface of the extended blade. Then, a layer of fire bubbled-up on the tip of the blade. Bursts of green light emerged on the blade’s hilt at the same time.

‘Buzz!’

The speed of the blade shadows accelerated to twice of its original speed.

Suddenly, Shi Mu’s eyes exuded a strange look. The Gale Force Blade Art began to whirl in his mind with a lightning speed.

“Ha!”

Shi Mu issued a loud shout as he infused his Xian Tian Real Qi into the black blade. Then, he flicked his arm, and wielded the blade horizontally in midair.

Suddenly, it seemed that the thirteen blade shadows hovering around the extended blade had received a summon. They flashed back, and submerged into the blade. Then, a bright-red luminescence bubbled-up on the surface of the blade along with a cloud of fire that flared-up vehemently.

‘Buzz!’

A half-moon shaped red blade light appeared amid the surging clouds of fire; it was ten feet long. Then, it slashed towards the front like a billowing wind that sweeps the cloud away.

The blade light left a cut on the cave’s wall with a loud rumbling sound.

The flame flashed on the stone-wall. Then, the crumbs of stones scattered in all directions. A several feet deep pit had been blasted out on the wall. And, the hundred feet long stone-wall had been left to shake violently by the impact. The fragments of stones sprinkled down like rain. The situation returned to normal after a while.

Shi Mu was exulted. He received the blade, and stood quietly.

Li Cang Hai had once told Shi Mu that the Gale Force Blade Art was reckoned as a Xian Tian level Blade Art before it was split into many stages. He had been trying to figure it out all these years. And, he had finally grasped the entire essence of it as he had entered the Xian Tian realm. He could now combine the thirteen blade shadows into one since he had become a Xian Tian Warrior. He had reached the proficiency level of this art through a comprehensive study. And, he had mastered the Xian Tian level blade art to its acme.

“This move is called the ‘Billowing Cloud Art’,” he murmured.

The Blade Art like the Billowing Cloud Art possessed an unimaginable might. Shi Mu was presently at the primary stage of the Xian Tian realm. But, even a Xian Tian advanced stage warrior couldn’t withstand his attack if he used his extended blade to display the Xian Tian level Blade art.

Shi Mu was exhilarated in his heart. An idea crossed his mind as his eyes gazed towards the extended blade in his hand.

He twisted his hands, and separated the extended blade into two parts – a blade and a stick.

Shi Mu moved his hand behind his body, and returned the black blade to his back. Then, he held-up the short stick in front of his chest.

He thundered loudly, and the short stick in his hand transformed into a black shadow. He then cast out a set of firm and ferocious murderous stick art.

Each stick shadow looked incomparably heavy. But, it turned out that it was the stick art that would produce overlapping layers of stick shadows.

The swift and fierce blade-shadow of the Gale Force Blade Art was different from the layers of black stick-shadows. The stick-shadows had an ambience of heaviness along with a pure murderous intention.

It seemed as if it was a mysterious hand-held magic wand that had appeared from the depths of hell.

“Die!”

Shi Mu roared loudly. His eyes dazzled with a murderous aura.

A layer of blue light floated on the surface of the short stick. Then, all the six layers of the Wind Shadow Magic Spell got activated. The Real Qi surged within Shi Mu’s lower abdomen at the same time, and gushed into his arms. Then, his arms moved, and wielded the short stick in a fierce manner.

Suddenly, the seven overlapping layers of the short stick’s shadows rushed forward while carrying a heavy oppressive pressure along with them. In fact, it seemed as if they were the shadows of seven mountains.

A series of deafening explosive sounds rang out in the air.

Several overlapping layers of stick-shadows bombarded on the other side of the mountain-wall – like a sea-wave. Bursts of explosive sounds were heard as they struck the wall. And, the wall was left to shake for a moment. Dozens of pits blasted out on the wall; each of them was as big as a lower millstone. Several crumbs of stones spread in all directions in a disorderly manner at the same time.

Shi Mu moved several dozen feet in a flash, and received his stick. He then stood still. A gleam of exhilaration appeared on his face.

The ‘Art of Seven Killer-Sticks’ indeed deserved to be a Xian Tian martial art. Its imposing aura didn’t seem to be as formidable as that of the Billowing Clouds Art that Shi Mu had just comprehended. But, the enemy could get time to resist only the first layer if all the seven layers were to be shot in succession. There was no way that the enemy could resist the second layer. Moreover, there would still be the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh layers that would be left to deal with even if one managed to succeed in destroying the second layer. Therefore, the overwhelming power of this art was matchless.

However, this technique didn’t come without any flaw. It required a massive amount of Real Qi to operate properly. The last shot had sucked-up almost fifty percent of Shi Mu’s Real Qi in an instant.

‘Pa! Pa! Pa!’ Suddenly, a burst of crisp and sonorous sound of applause was heard.

Shi Mu’s complexion changed. He turned his head to look into the direction where the sound was coming from.

Jin Xiao Chai stood at the entrance of the cave. Shi Mu hadn’t noticed that she had been standing there for a long time. There was a vivid smile on her face, and her hands were moving in a gesture of clapping.

“Master Jin…” Shi Mu quickly retracted the startled expression from his face. He then returned the short stick to his back.

“So, it’s Master Jin Xiao Chai who has showed-up. Cai has already met Master Jin.” Cai flew from the side, and landed on Shi Mu’s shoulder before Shi Mu could say anything.

“Accept my greetings, Cai!” Jin Xiao Chai flashed a mild smile.

“Shut up!”

Cai fluttered its wings, and was about to say something again. But, Shi Mu stretched out his hand, and tapped the parrot’s head in order to prevent it from blabbering any further.

“May I ask when Master Jin showed-up here?” Shi Mu turned his head and asked.

“I arrived here a long time ago. You’re a little slower than what I had expected earlier. But, you’ve finally stepped into the Xian Tian realm. So, feel free to call me Senior Sister from now onwards,” Jin Xiao Chai replied. She walked to Shi Mu’s side and stood firm at a distance of nearly ten feet from Shi Mu.

“I would like to express my gratitude towards Master Jin for bestowing me with a Qian Yuan Pill,” Shi Mu cupped his hands in obeisance and said.

“A Qian Yuan Pill can’t be considered a substantial contribution to your success. But, you’ve advanced to the Xian Tian realm nonetheless. So, do you have any plans now?” Jin Xiao Chai waved her hand, and changed the thread of conversation.

“Sister Jin, what does it mean? We’re heading to the Heavenly Demon Sect, aren’t we?” Shi Mu was struck dumb for a moment. Then, he asked in a surprised tone.

Jin Xiao Chai’s elegant eyebrows creased. She glared at Shi Mu coldly, and said, “Didn’t you say that you would go to look for her once you break through the Xian Tian realm?”

Shi Mu’s vision flashed as he said, “It’s natural. But, we’ve been sent by our Sect on a mission. Moreover, we’ve already infiltrated deep into the barbarian Wasteland. It’s only natural that I can’t turn back at this juncture. I’ll give priority to the assigned work. After that, I’ll rush to the Wan Long Mountains to look for her.”

Jin Xiao Chai shot a glance at Shi Mu. She then said, “I’m afraid she’d have already left the Wan Long Mountains by the time you reach there.”

“What! What do you mean?” Shi Mu was alarmed to hear these words. He then asked.

“Have you ever heard of the Ascension to Immortality Ceremony of the Lu Shan Kingdom?” Jin Xiao Chai asked.

“No, I haven’t heard of it. But, how is this matter related to the Demon Witch of Tian Yin?” Shi Mu knitted his brows and asked.

Shi Mu had heard the name of Lu Shan Kingdom before. It was the most powerful nation in the central mainland of the eastern continent. It could be said that it was the core of the entire human race of the eastern continent’s mainland. However, the matter of this ceremony had never reached Shi Mu’s ears before.

“You keep on proclaiming that you truly adore the Demon Witch of Tian Yin. You don’t even know her name. I wonder what other things you know about her.” Jin Xiao Chai shot a glance towards Shi Mu once again. Then, she let out a soft sigh, and spoke-up in a spooky manner.