The Portal of Wonderland

A little time passed…

Shi Mu had received two powerful strikes of a barbarian Xian Tian warrior – Zong Yuan. This incident had made him quite famous. His fame gradually spread across the fortress-prefectures. Moreover, he had also slaughtered a number of Hou Tian Totem Warriors in the battlefield with his black blade. These two incidents had become legends with the passage of time. Many barbarian Totem Warriors had started to call Shi Mu by the name of ‘Flaming Blade’.

Six months later…

There was a place in a precarious mountain valley on the border of Rui Prefecture. An intermittent burst of weapons’ clanging sounds could be heard coming out of the place. They were often accompanied by pitiful screams and shouts.

There was an open area deep into the valley. Nearly a dozen lofty and well-built Totem warriors were indulged in a heart-shuddering battle with five human disciples. They were mercilessly killing and tearing-apart the disciples; Shi Mu was one of these disciples.

Twenty or more corpses were littered-about disorderly in the surrounding mountainous regions. Majority of them were human warriors.

Most of these corpses were in a torn state. Their mutilated bodies looked as if they had been torn apart by a wild beast. Their severed limbs, blood and shattered internal organs were scattered all over the valley. The entire valley was filled with an unpleasant and pungent smell of blood. It was so nauseating that it could make anyone puke.

Shi Mu and his ten companions had been attacked by these barbarians on their way back to their stronghold; they had just completed a mission. They had then encountered an ambush while passing through the mountain valley.

Only seven Totem warriors had been blocking their way in the beginning. So, the human disciples were confident since they outnumbered the barbarians at the time. Moreover, these disciples were young and ambitious. Therefore, they didn’t run away from the battle.

However, the situation became lopsided when the two sides started to fight. Ten Totem Warriors had emerged from the surrounding mountain valley, and had joined their group. This had completely turned the table. Then, the human race had started to suffer heavy causalities.

A disciple named Xia Hou Xuan was the leader of the human disciples. He belonged to the Tian Yin Sect. He realized that the situation had turned adverse for them. But now, they had lost their chance to escape.

The human disciples were now outnumbered by the barbarians. Moreover, they had just completed a mission. So, they were already exhausted. Therefore, they quickly fell into an ugly situation. However, they were still fighting desperately by putting their lives at stake. They had killed several totem warriors. But, they had also suffered heavy losses, and had lost many of their warriors.

The majority of survivors from both sides were seriously wounded. Shi Mu was also injured.

His face was smudged in blood. A two-feet long wound could be clearly seen on his back. He had also received an injury inside the Golden Armor he was wearing. Fresh blood was continuously gushing out from his wound. His shirt was soaked in his blood. Moreover, several claw-scars could be seen on his thighs and ribs; each one of them was as big as a human’s palm.

Shi Mu had activated the Rejuvenating Charm he had received from Miss Ke in order to stop his bleeding. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have survived for such a long time. Nine Totem Warriors were still fighting in the battlefield. Four of them had surrounded Shi Mu.

Shi Mu had been using the Golden Armor Charm to fight with these barbarians. He had risked his life multiple times, and had already succeeded in getting rid of two relatively weaker barbarians. Xia Hou Xuan had also killed several enemies. The situation seemed to have become a little stabilized. However, the attention of all the Totem Warriors was fixed on Shi Mu since he was famed among the enemies as the ‘Flaming Blade’.

However, Shi Mu looked calm and composed. His black blade danced around like a gust of wind. It skillfully repelled the attacks of the four barbarians. However, he felt a little anxious in his heart.

He noticed that Xia Huo Xuan was in an extremely poor condition. His entire body was covered in blood; it seemed as if he had bathed in blood. But, he was still trying to deal with two Totem Warriors. The other three disciples were on the brink of breakdown. One of them had even lost one of his arms. But, he was still fighting with the support of his willpower and conviction.

The four barbarian men had surrounded Shi Mu from all sides. However, they still feared the black blade in Shi Mu’s hand. They looked around and realized that they had the upper hand in the battle. Therefore, they acted sensibly, and didn’t rush to kill Shi Mu in a reckless manner. Instead, they switched to a deliberate-delaying-tactic.

Shi Mu was fully aware of the criticality of the situation. He knew that the remaining three disciples wouldn’t last long under the ruthless attacks of the Totem warriors. Even Xia Hou Xuan was trapped in an extremely precarious situation.

Shi Mu moved and evaded another blow. Meanwhile, he looked towards the entrance of the valley. Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down his spine.

He could see distant things quite clearly owing to his extraordinary golden pupils. He saw ten or more black dots at a distance of several hundred feet from the entrance of the valley. They seemed to be getting bigger; as if they were galloping toward them.

A golden gleam flashed across his eyes. He realized that these people were Totem Warriors.

Suddenly, two heart-wrenching cries resounded in unison.

Shi Mu saw that Xia Hou Xuan had pierced the throat of one of the Totem Warriors with his spear. The Totem warrior had died on the spot. But, Xia Hou Xuan had himself fallen into the hands of another barbarian. His back was severely slashed by a stone axe. The wound was so deep that his bone could clearly be seen. Fresh blood had started to gush-out of his injury.

Then, the one-armed disciple was chopped into two halves by a Totem warrior’s axe. A stream of blood flowed out of his severed body… along with his internal organs. The disciple died on the spot. However, he had managed to gather the entirety of his strength right before his death, and had struck hard. His last strike had blinded one of the eyes of his enemy.

The one-eyed barbarian’s face was smudged in blood. However, he thundered as he raised his axe, and stormed towards Xia Hou Xuan.

Xia Hou Xuan was severely injured. However, he was still fighting with two barbarians. He became even more energetic and serious after he witnessed his companion’s death.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Shi Mu’s mind. He glanced towards the valley once again, and set a firm resolve. He then held the last Armor Charm in his hand.

His body flashed and dodged a curved dagger from the left side. It was wielded by a tall barbarian. Shi Mu then deliberately exposed himself to a bald barbarian who stood on his right.

The bald barbarian’s eyes flashed with an ominous glint as he saw Shi Mu. His right palm – similar to a bear’s paw – moved and hacked at Shi Mu’s right arm. Suddenly, an intense gale plummeted down on Shi Mu’s right shoulder with a huge pressure.

Two barbarians stood behind Shi Mu. They were twins. They also started to brandish their mantis-like arms as they noticed Shi Mu. The rapid movement of their arms set-off four rounds of blade-light along with a cold wind. One of the barbarians blocked Shi Mu’s left side with his blade-light; the other blocked his right side. They had blocked Shi Mu’s escape route from both the sides now.

Suddenly, a bright-golden light sparkled on Shi Mu’s left hand. He then patted his chest with his glowing left hand. A faint layer of golden light emerged on his skin, and shrouded his entire body.

He turned around to face the twin barbarians. His black blade howled like a dragon amid red flames. It spouted thirteen fiery-red blade-shadows, and these blade-shadows rolled out towards the twins. Shi Mu had completely ignored the attack of the bald barbarian in the process.

‘Shua!’

Shi Mu shouted out loud as the red blade shadows were about to clash with the twins. He had exerted a huge effort, and had instilled his Real Qi into his blade. The thirteen red blade-shadows gathered midway, and merged into a streak of a blazing red blade; it was nearly ten feet long. Shi Mu then pounded his blazing blade light towards one of the twins’ head – like a bolt of lightning.

‘Clang!’ a metal clanging sound was heard.

The twin barbarian was thunderstruck. He folded his arms in front of his chest in order to ward-off the blade.

‘Kacha!’ his arms were severed from his body with a snapping sound. ‘Puff!’ Then, a muffled sound was heard.

His huge head – full of braids – was sent flying into the air. However, his headless body remained standing at the same spot. Blood started to gush out of his severed neck like a fountain of blood.

This entire process had taken place in a fleeting second. Shi Mu hadn’t exhibited a single sloppy movement.

But then, a couple of blade shadows and a bear’s paw fell heavily on Shi Mu’s body.

‘Ping!’ A few dull thumping sounds resounded.

The golden light on Shi Mu’s body sparkled brightly. Then, it became dark again.

The other twin barbarian lost his mind after he witnessed the death of his brother; he was enraged beyond compare. He swooped down on Shi Mu like a frenzied beast. He didn’t even notice that Shi Mu had prepared another move. Shi Mu’s left hand had already assumed a strange posture. Suddenly, an air-piercing sound was heard.

A cloudy-white ball was shot out from Shi Mu’s mouth. It had come extremely close to the twin barbarian. So, he couldn’t evade it, and was struck in his chest.

‘Bang!’ the twin barbarian didn’t even get a chance to issue a scream. A huge and bloody hole appeared in his chest; it was as big as a millstone. He then slumped down to the ground with a loud sound.

Shi Mu then twisted his black blade and shot out several black blade-shadows. Those shadows fled from his blade, and repelled the successive attacks of the bald barbarian. His left hand transformed into the Stone Breaking fist, and hacked at the blade of another tall barbarian.

Shi Mu drew away from the remaining two barbarians after the quick strike; he took a few steps backwards. He then staggered, and regained his balance.

Shi Mu’s complexion looked pale and exhausted. His physical strength and magic power were on the brink of exhaustion. However, he didn’t stop fighting. He held his black blade horizontally before his chest. The surface of his blade glittered once again with a faint-red light. It seemed to be prepared to launch another attack.

A trace of fear gleamed across the eyes of the tall and the bald barbarians. The two of them exchanged a meaningful look, and moved several steps backwards. Then, they began to move in a circle around Shi Mu from a distance of over a hundred feet.

Suddenly, a series of pitiful screams filled the surrounding air.

Shi Mu was startled. He realized that another two disciples of his team had collapsed in a pool of blood.

However, they had poured out last bit of their strengths, and had launched counterattacks against the two Totem Warriors they had been dealing with. They had killed one of them; the other one was left severely injured.

However, the injured Totem warrior didn’t seem to feel any pain; he completely ignored his chest injury. He then formed a converging attack with the other two barbarians. They were about to hit Xia Hou Xuan from behind.

Xia Hou Xuan was again in a desperate situation.

Suddenly, Shi Mu stepped forward and sprang towards them. He waved his blade in the air, and shot out thirteen blade-shadows towards the injured Totem warrior who was about to launch a converging attack on Xia Hou Xuan.

The tall and the bald barbarians roared in anger as they saw this. They started to chase after Shi Mu hastily.

An apprehensive look flashed across Xia Hou Xuan’s eyes as he saw that the three barbarians were about to launch their converging attack on him. The long spear in his hand emitted a black light that traced a few eerie arcs in midair. Then, he leapt towards the one-eyed barbarian. He ignored the other two barbarians behind him; he was now following a ‘collateral damage’ idea.

‘Bang!’ a loud sound was heard.

The injured barbarian issued a miserable shriek as the two black blade shadows plummeted down on his body. Blood started to gush out of his wounds. Then, his body tumbled down heavily to the ground; it had been cut into three pieces.

Another blood-curdling screech was heard.

Xia Hou Xuan had pierced the throat of the one-eyed barbarian with his spear. However, he himself was cut into two halves from his waist by the shorter barbarian’s stone axe. Blood and his internal organs spurted out of his body.

“Haha! Our leader Tu Yan will be here any moment with more people. Flaming Blade, your death has finally arrived.” The bald man was startled and enraged at the same time. He was overwhelmed with happiness as he saw a dozen of figures coming from behind Shi Mu.

The other two barbarians also looked overjoyed. They had stationed themselves on either side of the bald man, and had blocked the way to the valley’s opening.

Shi Mu’s front side was blocked by the three barbarians, and the pursuing team was approaching from behind him. He was now in an extremely dire situation.

Shi Mu’s complexion darkened. He took out several attacking paper charms, and activated his magic power.

‘Whiz! Whiz!’ Several whistling sounds were heard as he threw out several paper charms such as the Fire ball Charm, the Fiery Snake Charm, the Huge Rock Charm, the Water Sword Charm and many others towards the bald barbarian.

The two fingers of his left hand moved at the same time, and shot out two dazzling silver lights at an incredible speed. The silver lights produced a strange droning sound in the air as they dashed towards the two Totem warriors who stood on either side of the bald man.

These silver lights were the newer version of the Moonlight Sea Urchin that Shi Mu had recently refined.

The shorter barbarian on the left sneered and rotated the axe in his right hand. The rapid movement of his axe formed a white wave. This wave then moved forward to deal with the silver light.

The tall barbarian on the right grabbed his curved dagger. It became fuzzy and started to produce several illusory images. It became extremely hard to determine the actual position of his dagger. He also seemed prepared to deal with the approaching silver light.

The silver Moonlight daggers hadn’t yet touched the target. Suddenly, a few purple charm characters lit-up on their surface. Then, a layer of purple light shrouded the daggers.

The two barbarians were barely able to sense that there was something strange in the air. Two groups of small purple-fire balls rose into the air before they could even react. Then, a huge dazzling purple light shrouded the barbarian in the middle.

‘Bang!’ a loud rumble was heard.

The three Totem warriors had disappeared without a trace. Two enjoined pits had appeared on the ground where the three of them had stood. The pits were several feet in radius.

Shi Mu didn’t even stay for a single second after the successful attack. He turned his hand, and stuck another paper charm on his chest. He then transformed into a light breeze, and dashed towards the opening of the valley.