The Portal of Wonderland

After half an hour, Shi Mu arrived at the courtyard of the demon race.

He paused in front of the door before walking in.

“Qing Cang, you’re a bit later than usual.”

As Shi Mu walked in, he was greeted by a tall boar demon male.

Shi Mu glanced at him but did not speak, and simply walked past the man to the other side.

He spent the past month observing everything that had been going on in the demon tribe through Cai’s eyes, so he knew the names of all the demon men in the courtyard. The boar man in front of him was well known within the Red Flame City. He was one of the few who occasionally exchanged words with Qing Cang.

The boar demon did not much mind being ignored since Qing Cang was well known for his strange antisocial behavior. He had a tendency of losing his temper even with his own boss.

He looked at Shi Mu’s back and wrinkled his eyebrows as if something seemed odd to him. But as soon as the thought came into his mind, he immediately shook his head and dismissed it.

Shi Mu went through several corridors in the courtyard before finally arriving at Qing Cang’s room. As he got in, he slammed the door behind him.

Several demons living nearby frowned at the disturbance. They said nothing, but their furrowed brows showed their annoyance.

Shi Mu made himself comfortable in his bed and got some rest to regain his strength and energy.

Cai was staying outside sharing his vision, trying to find out about the demons and what they were up to.

For the time being, no one was aware of his real identity. At his current level of cultivation, nobody knew if it would be easy to deal with one or two demons if they ever attacked him.

After a while, Shi Mu opened his eyes and regained his vision as he took out Qing Cang’s bracelet from his storage box. After he dropped his blood on the bracelet, he began meditating.

It did not have as much space as Shi Mu’s own storage ring, although his was mostly full already.

As Shi Mu waved his hand, a jade slip made of bones appeared in his hand. It was the list of materials that Qing Cang ordered.

Most of the materials in the bracelet were listed, but there were still some mid-level symbols.

Shi Mu chuckled and did not dare to say how much it would be for him either.

He took out a charm and placed it in the bracelet. After further consideration, he took out a few more high-level charms and stuffed them in.

The Earth Serpent Tribe did not have many spirits stones so it was not easy to purchase the materials listed. However, the reason the company was willing to take over was their ability to get the task done well, so they had a better chance of being elected to participate in the Form Assuming Ceremony.

This was the news delivered by both Cai and Yu Yi from the demon tribe . The demon men took on such missions and tasks solely for this purpose.

Shi Mu silently counted in his head and began to explore the bracelet once again.

All the goods listed had been purchased but their quality was not up to standard.

It just so happened Shi Mu had an idea to help him overcome this obstacle.

Shi Mu had decided that he would take on Qing Cang’s identity and peruse the major shops in Red Flame City for what he needed.

Half a month later, the time to return had finally arrived. A group of demon men gathered in the courtyard, packed for their departure to the center of the city, the transmission hall to the Black Flamed Mountain’s peak.

The large transfer hall was a large vestibule forty or fifty feet long, filled with countless quaint runes in the center. Around the high platform was a stone pillar with a golden rune inscribed on it, which was connected to the runes of the array on the ground, forming a majestic transmission array.

The formation emitted a bright golden glow that could be seen and felt even from a distance.

This was the first time Shi Mu had been here but he did not look around. All he had his eyes on was the ground, with Cai on his shoulder like an ordinary parrot with wandering eyes.

The members of the demon tribe found Cai’s presence unusual but Shi Mu did not speak much so there was nothing to say about it. After all, spirit animals were raised by several demon tribes, and some were even sold at shops in Red Flame City. It was not as strange as it seemed.

There were several stone tables located in the main hall and sitting behind one of them were five or six barbarians in red robes. Judging by their dress, they were most probably the government of the Red Flame City.

A tall figure from a demon tribe appeared and it was not other than the man from the Wild Boar Tribe. He went up to the individuals in red robes and handed them a bag of spirit stones after they were done negotiating their terms.

Shi Mu may had stayed in Red Flame City for almost three years now but he was clueless. Although he had never been here, he managed to find out more about it than he should know, thanks to the information he gathered from Yu Yi.

This was the only pathway to Fire Prison City. At least 50 people would show up at a time, and would be charged individually. The cost was about one thousand spirit stones per head, which was neither too expensive nor cheap.

This time there were only a dozen people. After paying, they got up and waited for the others to arrive. About half an hour later, another demon tribe and several barbarians arrived. Once all 50 individuals had arrived, they departed.

With a flash of gold, they arrived at another hall that was of a similar size as the previous one.

“This journey tires me but finally we’re back. Let’s go!” the barbarian man said as he stretched his hand and walked out the hall.

The other demons’ expressions also softened and one by one, they made their way out.

Shi Mu was alone and walked behind the crowd. Soon after, he exited the hall too.

The transmission hall was built on the top of a black tower with a height of 100 feet. This giant tower was the landmark of Fire Prison City. It was every bit as magnificent as the Black Flame Mountain of Red Flame City.

From here, they had a panoramic view of everything in Fire Prison City.

Compared to Red Flame City, the buildings here were mostly wild and rough, an obvious characteristic of the demon tribes.

At first glance, most of the citizens were of the Half-transformed Demon Race. Normal people were not easy to spot at all.

Shi Mu and the others did not stay long at the tower. Each went their own way.

…

Three months later, somewhere in the tent of the Earth Serpent Tribe…

A young snake demon man dressed in a gray robe was seen bowing and sitting in front of an elder in a respectful manner.

The snake demon was not other than Shi Mu in disguise.

“Master An, you’ve always said that we should purchase more weapons and materials but there is not a lot to be found in Red Flame City. I spent a great deal of money to get this much. I used the remaining spirit stones to purchase some high-level charms. Elder Master An, please use them,” Shi Mu said as he handed over a rough storage bracelet.

Master An took the bracelet without hesitating. Raising it up, a variety of items appeared.

He did not pay much attention to all the charm tools until he spotted a strangely-coloured charm.

“Isn’t this the thundercloud storm… and the frosty water blade?!”

After a long while, Master An stroked his beard with satisfaction and nodded saying, “Hehe… Qing Cang, you really outdid yourself this time. You never fail to surprise me!”

“Only with Master An’s blessing is disciple Qing able to encounter such good fortune. I needed but a few spirit stones to get my hands on the high-level charm,” Shi Mu said.

“Alright, I don’t think it’s necessary for me to test the rest of the goods. You saved us a lot of spirit stones this time. Even the leader of the tribe praised you. HAHA! How did I not recognize your skills back then,” Master An laughed as he took the two high-level charms.

“Master An, you flatter me,” Shi Mu said in a happy yet modest manner.

As Shi Mu left the tent, he sighed loudly and walked toward the edge of the tribe to the small tent where he lived.

Ever since he joined the Earth Serpent Tribe, he had been responsible for several purchases. He had not only completed it quickly without error but was also able to bring along a few high-level charms.

Due to their nature, the demon tribe was innately unsuited to cultivation, so a powerful charm would satisfy their needs.

What Shi Mu had done was of great significance to these war-torn demon tribes, especially the Earth Serpent Tribe.

Although Shi Mu had used some of his own spirit stones in the process, it was all worthwhile.

According to the news he had gathered, the honors he accumulated in the tribe over the past few months made him most likely to rank in the top three. Judging by the current situation, the mid- and high-level leaders including the patriarchs had begun to notice his skills.

The Form Assuming Ceremony would be held at Heaven Ascension Peak a month from now. The Ministry of the Earth Serpent Tribe would send ten representatives, and no doubt Shi Mu would be among them.

The next day, Shi Mu received a message early in the morning from the patriarchs.

He immediately departed for the largest tent in the center of the tribe.

As soon as he entered the tent, Shi Mu found that there were already a number of members of the Earth Serpent Tribe standing beside the tent.

Seeing Shi Mu enter, many of them quickly turned their heads.

It was no surprise as Qing Cang didn’t have a good relationship with anyone in the tribe, so most would look away as soon as they saw him, showing that they did not know who Qing Cang was.

It affected Shi Mu at first since he was not used to imitating another person’s attitude. He quickly reverted to his quiet personality and sat down once he found a space in the corner.

After a while, the four elders including the head of the Earth Serpent Tribe, arrived at the chamber.

The head of the tribe was a thin and frail old man. Most of his body was in the mid stage of its evolution but there were still some scales on his face and arms.

The patriarch went straight to the chair in the middle of the tent and sat down. The other four elders similarly took their seats.

“Well now that everyone has arrived, I’ll make this simple and quick. I have summoned you all here for an important matter,” the patriarch announced.

At the sound of his voice, the atmosphere became serious. Everyone looked at the patriarchs and stopped talking.

“You all must have known, the tenth year of the Form Assuming Ceremony will be held at the Heaven Ascension Peak next month. There is not much time left, so we as elders of the Earth Serpent Tribe made a preliminary decision on the selection of the candidates,” the patriarch paused and made a gesture to the right.

An elder who appeared as tall as a crane walked up and turned over a scroll. There were a total of ten people listed on the scroll and Qing Cang was in the tenth place.

Everyone looked at the list and arguments arose. Some were happy and others sad. Everyone knew what it would mean to be chosen to participate in the ceremony. If they could pass and obtain the transformation orb, they would be able to advance. This would mean a lot to the tribe.

“That was so close!”

Shi Mu laughed inwardly at himself for thinking he would rank third but in reality, he barely made it on the list. Right now, it did not matter if he was first or last. As long as he was on the list, his plan had succeeded.

Suddenly he noticed Master An glance at him. Shi Mu bowed slightly in response.

Shi Mu was moved. It seems that his show of loyalty was not in vain. His tenth place seems to have been won through Master An.

“All those on the list, please go back and prepare yourself. You will depart in three days,” the head of Earth Serpent Tribe said.

“I can’t accept this! How does Qing Can’t qualify? I’m stronger than he is!” cried a man in a black robe.