The Portal of Wonderland

A massive grey mountain range could be seen meandering in the vicinity of the Qu Yang City — the Capital City of Xixia country.

This mountain range was called the Gloomy Corpse Mountains. It was because these mountains were perennially shrouded in grey and gloomy Yin clouds. In addition, this mountain range looked like a gigantic dead body lying on its side. Therefore, it had derived such a weird name.

These mountains were very close to Qu Yang City, and had a tall grey mountain peak in the vicinity. This peak was also enveloped in the grey fog from halfway up the mountain. So, the summit couldn’t be seen throughout the year.

However, a person would be left awestruck if they flew above those clouds.

This hilltop soared above the clouds. But, a cluster of sky-soaring black palace-temples stood on it. These palaces were extremely large in number. But, the thing that could make a person flabbergasted was that the summit of this peak was seemingly occupied by an enormous grey skeleton of a demon beast.

This gigantic skeleton seemed to belong to either a wolf or a tiger. Its body was almost the size of this mountain peak itself. All four of its claws were deeply inserted into the mountain. Its head was raised high… as if it was looking far into the distance. The palaces were built underneath this gigantic skeleton on the peak.

Grey-robed people could frequently be seen walking across these palaces. Their sleeves were engraved with a ‘blood-red moon’ pattern. The frequent movement of these people portrayed an extremely bustling image of this place.

This place was the Main Altar of the Dark Moon Cult.

A mass of grey clouds floated over from the foot of the mountain at this moment. Then, it landed in the public square on the summit of the peak.

The grey cloud flickered a couple of times, and dissipated. Then, two persons’ silhouettes floated into view. One of them was a young man. He was attired in a pale-white robe. He had long and blood-red hair. His refined facial features illustrated that this handsome young man was in a transition phase of his life.

The other person was a red-dressed maiden. She had a petite yet exquisite figure. She was blessed with very beautiful facial features.

“This is… Young Master Liu An has returned!”

“This disciple extends his sincere regards to Young Master Liu!”

A few disciples of the Dark Moon Cult stood near the public square. Their faces revealed a look of astonishment when they saw these two people. They then bowed to greet them.

However, Liu An’s facial expression remained calm and ice-cold. He didn’t pay any attention to the greetings of these surrounding disciples. In fact, he walked straight in the direction of a black palace-temple in the center.

The red-dressed maiden followed him closely.

They soon walked into the black palace via a long and winding corridor that was connected to it.

The two people started to walk forward along the winding corridor in a silent manner. It hadn’t been long before a grey-robed curly-haired young man appeared before them. His facial features looked ordinary. But, there were two deep lines on the wings of his nose. His nose looked like a gloomy duck’s.

“Isn’t this Palace Lord Liu? Indeed it is! Long time, no see!” The curly-haired man was dumbfounded for a moment when his eyes fell on these two people. His footsteps abruptly stopped, and he stood in front of them.

Liu An and the red-dressed maiden had no alternative but to stop as well. Then, they also looked back at the curly-haired young man.

“It is said that the Palace Lord Liu has amazed the world with his mind-blowing attainment in the Heavenly Yu City this time. You dared to challenge the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult by relying only on six trivial people. Such courage, boldness, and imposing attitude have indeed made me admire you. Tsk Tsk… You indeed deserve to be called the favorite disciple of our Head Dong Fang. You’re a great hero,” the curly-haired man said.

Liu An didn’t utter a word in reply. In fact, he still retained the same serene expression on his face. However, an indignant look had surfaced on the red-dressed maiden’s face. But, she cast a glance at Liu An, and decided to remain silent.

“Well, why do I only see Palace Lord Liu and Sister Zhen? Where are the rest of the people?” the curly-haired man pretended to look behind them as he asked.

A furious look flared-up in the red-dressed maiden’s eyes as she heard his words. She stepped forward to speak something.

But then, Liu An stretched out his hand in front of her, and blocked her path. Then, he opened his mouth to say, “What does it matter to you, Lord of the Dark Green Wolf Palace?”

“Palace Lord Liu, you and I haven’t seen each other for years. But, you’ve returned safe and sound today. So, I wanted to express my warm greetings to you. You don’t have to be so rude to me,” the curly-haired man smiled as he said. But, he had deliberately increased the pitch of his voice to put stress on the two words ‘safe and sound’.

A trace of haze flashed across Liu An’s eyes as he heard his reply. He was about to say something when the sound of footsteps spread from the front.

These three persons’ gaze drew toward the source of the sound. And, they saw that a thin man was walking toward them. This man had red eyebrows, and he looked to be around thirty years old.

“Brother Liu, you’ve finally returned!” the man with red-eyebrows was pleasantly surprised to see Liu An. So, he quickly walked over to him.

“Senior Brother Di, long time no see,” a delightful smile gleamed across Liu An’s face as he said.

“It’s good to see that you’ve returned,” The facial expression of the man with red eyebrows looked excited as he patted Liu An’s shoulder.

“Senior Brother Di,” The red-dressed maiden also approached the red-browed man, and greeted him.

“Sister Zhen is also here. I’m glad to see you safe and sound.” The red-browed man nodded to the red-dressed girl.

“Come along with me. We haven’t seen each other for ages. I want to have a proper talk with you,” The red-browed man pulled Liu An’s hand, and walked towards the front with quick steps.

The red-browed man didn’t even cast a glance at the curly-haired man when he walked past him… it seemed as if this person didn’t even exist.

The curly-haired man’s face darkened. He watched the receding silhouettes of the three people and snorted in a cold manner.

His eyes flashed twice. Then, he took a step, and advanced toward the front.

Liu An and the red-dressed maiden arrived at a partially-slanting hall under the red-browed man’s guidance.

This place was the residence of this red-browed man. A pungent smell of alcohol seemed to have pervaded the air in the hall.

“Brother Di, it seems that you have started drinking again,” the red-dressed girl knitted her eyebrows as she said.

“Ha ha, I only take a few glasses to cast away my worries. Come, sit down,” the red-browed man burst into loud laughter.

The three took their respective seats.

“Brother Di, what’s the situation of our cult now?” Liu An sat down, and opened his mouth to ask immediately-after.

“How could it be? You can also see that it’s still the same. The position of the Sect Head has been vacant since the demise of the Head, Dong Fang. The people in our cult have been vying for this position. Moreover, our strength is gradually deteriorating,” the man with red eyebrows forced a smile as he replied.

Liu An nodded as if he had expected this situation.

“It’s good that you’re back. You’re the successor to this position since Head Dong Fang had appointed you to succeed him. We can still hope for the revival of our Dark Moon Cult if you agree to inherit the position of the Sect Head!” the red-browed man said.

“What is the Honorable Master’s situation at the moment?” Liu An remained silent for a moment. Then, he asked again.

“Don’t mention! Dozens of years have passed since the Honorable Master entered the Yin Wind Cave for seclusion practice. But, we still haven’t heard anything from him. He has been teaching a few new disciples. Perhaps, he isn’t even aware that a position is still vacant in the Cult,” The man shook his head.

“It would be good if Honorable Master can achieve the Heaven-rank,” Liu An said.

“I hope so. Oh, by the way… I heard that you were at the Heavenly Yu City. What’s the situation there?” the red-browed man asked after a momentary hesitation.

Liu An glanced at the red-dressed girl who was seated behind him. Then, he started to narrate the entire story in a slow manner. In fact, he explained almost everything that had happened that day in the Heavenly Yu City.

The red-dressed girl silently lowered her head, and a hint of melancholy smeared her face.

The red-browed man’s eyes revealed a trace of shock after he had heard the whole story. It was indeed sorrowful news that many people had to sacrifice their lives in order to protect Liu An.

“As for the matter of the Heavenly Yu City… the fact is that I had been too confident. I had thought that I could contend against the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult by merely relying on the strength of the Demon King Luo Tian. I had also thought that we could leave that place safely. However, I had never expected that Old Man Wu Chen’s strength would be so profound. Thus, my miscalculations brought calamities upon us. And, several of my fellow apprentices fell prey to them and died,” Liu An sighed.

“Brother Liu, you don’t have to blame yourself. We will certainly make the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult pay the due price one day!” the man said.

“The pride of the Palace Lord Di hasn’t reduced a bit. But, may I know what you are planning to do to take revenge on the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult?” a voice suddenly spread from outside. Then, the curly-haired young man walked over.

“Huo Qing, you should be in your Dark Green Wolf Palace at this moment, right? So, what are you doing here?” An infuriated look flared on the red-browed man’s face, and he stood up.

“Palace Lord Di, the strong smell of your wine has proliferated everywhere. And, this smell has invited me to come here. I never wanted to come over to suffer hardships. It was just that the Minister of the Right Wing has also heard that Palace Lord Liu has safely returned. So, he wants to call all ten Palace Lords of the Main Altar to the main hall for a general discussion. He made me take the opportunity to notify everyone concerned,” the curly-haired man said. Simultaneously, he pinched his nose with his hand, while his other hand was sweeping in front of his nose.

Liu An and the two other people were startled to hear these words.

A trace of sneer spread across the curly-haired man’s face as he shot a glance at Liu An. After that, he didn’t stay there. He turned around and walked away.

“Big Brother,” the red-dressed girl cast a worried look at Liu An after the curly-haired man’s departure.

“It’s nothing. You don’ have to be anxious about anything,” Liu An still retained the calm expression on his face when he looked at the girl and replied in a comforting manner.

“Sister Zhen, don’t panic. The Right Wing Minister ought to have called us to inquire about Heavenly Yu City’s matter. You and Brother Liu haven’t done anything wrong this time. On the contrary, you have devastated the pride and fame of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult. And, I believe that everyone can understand this point,” the red-browed man added.

The red-dressed maiden felt somewhat relieved on hearing these words.

The three people arrived in front of a majestic black palace after almost a quarter-of-an-hour.

A huge horizontal board was suspended in the center of the Palace. It was inscribed with three big words — “Dark Spirit Palace”.

Two mighty statues stood on either side of the palace. They were several feet in height. These were the statues of two gods. One of the statues had three faces and six arms. It held a crescent-moon-shaped shovel-like weapon in its hand.

The other statue was half-woman and half-fish. It had gentle facial features, and it held a bottle in its hand.

These two statues were probably made by an expert since they looked very vivid and lifelike. They didn’t have life… but they were faintly emitting an invisible oppressive feeling.

However, it seemed that these three people were already accustomed to seeing these two great statues since they didn’t pay much attention to them. Liu An swept a glance around the palace in front of him. Then, he took a step and walked in.

The space inside the palace was very large. A few thick stone pillars could be seen around; they were supporting the roof.

A few moonlight stones were embedded in the surrounding walls. However, the light still appeared a bit gloomy… as if a layer of gloomy and hard-to-remove clouds were floating near the ceiling of the hall. There was a sense of silence and oppression that was beyond explanation.

Ten large stone chairs were arranged on either side of the palace. Half of them had already been occupied. That curly-haired young man was also seated on one of the chairs.

The seat of honor— that faced the entrance door — was unoccupied. And, the black wooden chair on the right-hand side of the seat of honor was occupied by an old man whose hair and beard were entirely white. His face looked shriveled, and lots of wrinkles had taken the shape therein. His overall appearance portrayed the image of an exceptionally old man.

The dark wooden chair opposite to this white-haired old man was also vacant.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps spread in the palace, and drew the eyes of these people toward it. The facial expression of each person was different from the others.

“Liu An has come to pay a visit to the Right Wing Minister,” Liu An looked at the white-haired old man, and greeted him with deep veneration.

“Palace Lord Liu, you were away for full ten years this time. Perhaps, this old man might not have got the chance to see you if you had returned a few years later,” the white-haired old man showed a trace of a faint smile on his face.

“I’m sorry to make the Right Wing Minister worry,” Liu An slightly bowed.

“Sit down, your seat was indeed empty for a long time,” the white-haired old man said while pointing his finger at the first spacious stone chair that was on his left-hand side.

A puzzled look flashed across Liu An’s eyes as his gaze fell on that seat. Then, he took that seat with a bit of hesitation.

After that, the red-browed man took the empty seat to Liu An’s left. And, the red-dressed girl stood firm behind Liu An.

“Ju Men, Wu Qu and Zi Wei – the three Palace Lords will be stationed to defend the border. And, the rest of the people will remain on standby. This is the beginning,” the white-haired old man coughed in a gentle manner and announced.