The Portal of Wonderland

“My apologies for making you wait, Sect Fellow Shi,” Master Gong Xi said as he handed over an exquisite wooden box.

Shi Mu reached into the box and took out a red leather glove. Its texture was soft and had a small rune pattern on top. There were five golden lines from each of the fingertips to the bottom of the glove, making it a perfect golden rune.

The moment Shi Mu put the glove on, the golden rune flashed and an inexplicable power surged through his left hand.

The violent untamed power emitted by his hand immediately calmed down as if it had been sealed.

Shi Mu was overjoyed and moved his left hand without any inconvenience.

“The leather of the Human-headed Flame Salamander not only possesses the ability of sealing, but it’s also durable. I used a special technique to strengthen it and increase the toughness of the glove. In the future, you can use it without any worry,” the old man said proudly.

“Thank you so much, Master Gong Xi,” Shi Mu said gratefully.

A moment later, Shi Mu left the Celestial Flame Armory and went back to the Lava Pool at Black Flamed Mountain to get some rest. Once he felt energized again, he got up and started the Fire-filled Array to continue his cultivation.

…

After another month in the Lava Pool, Shi Mu’s entire body was wrapped in red light, almost like a huge silkworm cocoon.

The red cocoon shined for a little while, with flashing lights that converged and merged into Shi Mu’s body.

Shi Mu opened his eyes and furrowed his brows.

He had been working hard for the past month but made no progress in the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

“How could this be?” Shi Mu was puzzled. This situation had never once happened in the three years since he first acquired the technique.

“Is it because the flames here are not strong enough? No, that can’t be it…” Shi Mu quickly dismissed the idea.

Using Fire Ore to transform the Fire-filled Array, the aura of fire attribute Qi had reached its peak. It had undoubtedly met the requirements for mastering the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

Maybe the problem was something he himself was doing wrong.

Shi Mu closed his eyes again and proceeded to recite the first stage to the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, but his attempt failed once again.

“Is it because there isn’t enough heavenly beast spirit blood in my body?” he wondered as he opened his eyes in frustration.

According to the description of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, it not only trained flesh but it also the heavenly beast spirit blood in one’s body. He had inhaled some blood mist from Xiang Zhu back then, but it was probably not enough for him to master the first stage of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

As he was murmuring, he could not help but laugh.

The white ape appeared again in his dream on the Heaven Ascension Peak. It was being worshipped and praised by the demon clan. It was undoubtedly the infamous white ape of the Western He Continent.

Back then he did not have much knowledge of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art but now he had achieved a little success in the technique. In his dream, the white ape was practicing the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. He had such strength that none could compare. He could be seen leading a demon clan to the Western He Continent and the barbarians were back in a corner of the Dongzhuo Continent.

All these years, he strived to the best of his ability in his cultivation. If it meant increasing his power, he would not hesitate to swim through the largest sea and climb the highest mountain to absorb the strength of the sun and moon.

Now that he set the goal of mastering the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, it was clear that he would need to absorb more white ape blood to complete the first phase of the art.

Thinking of where to obtain the blood of the white ape frustrated Shi Mu.

Aside from guessing that the white ape is a heavenly beast, he was clueless about anything else.

“Oh, that’s right…!”

Shi Mu suddenly thought of something and hurriedly flipped through the map of the Western He Continent. He looked through it and a certain pointed area caught his eye. It was the Heaven Ascension Peak!

Though Shi Mu was aware that the white ape did not reside in the Heaven Ascension Peak, why not go there and try his luck? Maybe he might be able to get some clues and more information about where the white ape could really be.

Shi Mu looked at the map and gasped as a whirlwind blew.

The next moment, the scene suddenly changed and Shi Mu found himself in an unknown valley.

He realized that he had once again found himself in the body of a white ape and could not control his actions.

He had involuntarily slipped into a dream again.

It was at nightfall and there was dead silence around him. Occasionally, the sounds of the river flowing could be heard.

Faint moonlight shone down from the sky, sketching a somewhat blurred scene.

The valley was filled with strange rock formations. Under the faint moonlight, the stones looked like teeth, almost as if they were about to chew on something.

There came a sound of unknown origin, followed by the appearance of four beastly shadows. They appeared to be an ape, a great bear, a red fox, and a bull. All looked like they were from the demon clans.

These monster clans seemed to be lead by the white ape as they all knelt to him in prostration.

The white ape remained silent and left the valley without a word.

The other four demons rose from their kneeling position and followed.

They soon passed through a jungle and arrived at a towering peak of a mountain. It looked magnificent.

Shi Mu gasped in amazement, for this was the famous Heaven Ascension Peak.

The white ape lead the four demons around the mountain and finally stopped in front of a cliff.

He took out a dark reddish ore and began to chant a spell of some sort. As he chanted, the ore began to glow with a swirling luminescence and a beam of light shot out from it, landing on the cliff in front of them.

A cracking sound began to erupt as a cave emerged.

The white ape entered the cave along with the beasts and walked through a damp wet path. They seemed to become happier and more cheerful. A huge space of approximately a hundred feet came into his sight. A foul smell filled in the air due to it being closed off and left untouched for so long.

In the center of the empty space were twelve giant columns of gray stone, forming a perfect circle.

Surrounding the cliff were bronze lamps placed in every corner. With a wave of the ape’s hand, white fireflies appeared from the lamps and lit up the whole room.

With the view now brightened, vivid monster patterns carved on the gray stone pillars were clearly visible. Under the blaze of white light, every stone pillar showed a different pattern.

The giant bear could not resist reaching out to touch one of the statues that resembled a griffin. The moment physical contact was made, the statue instantly gave off a low sobbing voice.

Seeing this, the white ape immediately pulled the giant bear’s hand away from the statue and chanted something. When the incantation was complete, the gray pillar started to glow, enveloping the griffin statue in a beam of white transparent light. The griffin began to quiet down.

The white ape glared at the bear demon angrily and told them something that sent them into shock. After that, none dared to touch the statues again.

The white ape lead the four demons around the stone pillar and entered a side passage. After a while, they arrived at a secret room.

The secret room was small, only twenty or thirty feet in size. In the middle of the roof was a stone door as pure and white as jade. It was unknown what kind of stone and material was used to produce it but the surface of the door emitted a warm light.

The white ape turned his hand over and took out a token which he swayed before the stone door so that it slowly opened.

The ape said nothing and swung one hand. A roll of golden light emerged and shine on the four demons, turning them into a ray of golden rainbow light and sucked them into the stone door.

Shi Mu could feel the golden light flashing in front of him. The next thing he knew, he had arrived in a huge hall.

In the center of the hall was a golden altar. The surface was engraved with a mysterious spirit mark.

When the white ape walked up to the altar, a wooden box appeared out of nowhere. The box seemed to be in darkness, but under the bright light of the white fireflies, it could be seen clearly.

The white ape placed the box in the middle of the altar and whispered a few words with the four demons.

The four demon tribesmen nodded in agreement and sat around the altar in a circle. Once seated, they began chanting a spell but Shi Mu was uncertain about the exact words of the spell.

The spirit mark on the surface of the altar began to glow and dense runes emerged, slowly circling the wooden box.

The four demons drew blood. As the blood touched the floor, it blended together and formed a ring around the box.

When the bloody ring reached the wooden box, the box began to tremble and shake violently, almost like something inside was trying to escape.

The members of the demon tribe were confused and afraid. They had no idea what was going on or what to do.

When the white ape saw this, he raised his arm and a beam of red light shot out from his fingertips. One drop of blood fell and flashed over the wooden box.

A drop of golden light sprinkled down from the blood and bathed the wooden box before it finally stopped.

The white ape roared angrily and the members of the demon tribe surrounding him immediately quietened down to accelerate their spellcasting against the wooden box.

The spirit rune on the altar’s surface appeared to be getting smaller and smaller before it finally attached itself onto the wooden box. As the light flashed before their eyes, the box suddenly disappeared.

The white ape’s blood that had been rotating atop the wooden box stopped spinning. It had not only fallen but also formed into a crystal blood jade which was embedded in the middle of the altar and exuded a ray of red light.

Shi Mu’s body jerked a little and he immediately snapped back from his dream…

As he fully awoke, he could not help but be overjoyed.

It’s true what they, people who are sleepy will be gifted with a pillow. There was white ape’s blood left in Heaven Ascension Peak!

In a way, the Heaven Ascension Peak is imperative!

Despite having advanced in rank, demon tribe territory without the protection of the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce was risky.

Shi Mu sighed and took out an item. It was none other than the Primordial Spirit given to him by Yu Yi. Upon holding it, a ray of white light was absorbed into the bead.

After half an hour, Yu Yi arrived at the Lava Pool.

“Hello, Brother Shi. Seeing as you’ve summoned me, is there anything I can help you with? “Yu Yi asked respectfully as he bowed to Shi Mu.

“Remember those who traded and did business with the Half-transformed Demon Race? Do you happen to still be in contact with them?”

“There are a few that I still keep good relations with.”

“Is it possible to get some information regarding the Heaven Ascension Peak?”

“May I know what kind of information you’re looking for then?” Yu Yi asked in puzzlement.

“About the surrounding of the Heaven Ascension Peak and how it is right now,” Shi Mu said as he looked at Yu Yi.

“As far as I know, the Heaven Ascension Peak is guarded by the three major demon tribes: the Moon Bear, the Sky Fox, and the Azure Ape. Their defense is extremely strict on a daily basis to the point that no man from the outside is able to get in undetected. It’s almost impossible,” Yu Yi said.