The Portal of Wonderland

“But how am I supposed to see you again in the future?” Shi Mu frowned.

“Heh, this king is going to stay here for three more days before leaving the Western He continent permanently,” The Azure Ape King replied.

“You’re…leaving the Western He continent?” Shi Mu couldn’t contain his surprise.

“An all-out war between the barbarians and the demon in the near future is already set in stone—but, alas, it is no longer just about these two races at this point,” the Azure Ape King replied flatly. “Look, let’s just say a certain King has gotten a bit too old to join the fray like the youngsters, you follow?”

“Now, situated on the northeast of the ocean surrounding the Dongzhou Continent is an Ocean Spirit Island. This king will be there for a year, so whenever you finally summon enough guts to leave this planet with me, I welcome your presence there. But of course, on your end of the bargain, you’ll have to pass the first half of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art to me right there and then. I’ll get the second half from you once we both leave Cerulean Sea Star safely. This way, it’s a fair bargain for the both of us, wouldn’t you agree?”

It took Shi Mu only a few seconds of thought before he nodded his head.

“Yes, I agree to your terms.”

“Good, because if you don’t appear within a year, you’ll never get your chance. To be completely frank with you, my ancestor’s Blood Essence pumping within these veins also makes me a target for my ancestral arch-nemesis’ wrath,” the Azure Ape King shot a meaningful glance at Shi Mu as he added, “So this King is leaving our Cerulean Sea Star whether you’re in or not. After all, once I reach other planets and stars, I might be able to find another way to continue my life.”

“Alright, I understand your conviction, Elder. Your junior has much to settle before making a decision, so I shall now excuse myself,” Shi Mu replied casually, cupping his fists in front of his chest before turning away and leaving.

The Azure Ape King watched Shi Mu’s back before his face suddenly turned paper-white for a second before he bent his body forward in a violent coughing fit.

Half a year later…

On the Dongzhou Continent, at the old capital city of Xixia country—Qu Yang City.

A gallant man donning a grey robe and a bamboo hat was treading on one of the city streets.

Scattered on the side of the curb was the rubble and remnants of city walls after what looked to be a hellish fire. Many of the fallen roofs that had once belonged to the residential houses had now been blanketed by a thick layer of green moss.

Within toppled courtyards, shrubs and thickets of various sizes had sprouted. Some of them with extensive and robust roots had already extended their reach to the middle of the roads, forcing big pus-like bulges to protrude from the streets.

The man with the bamboo hat had an even gait, yet he was surprisingly fast in his pace. It took him only a dozen minutes to cross several streets. On his journey, however, he encountered few pedestrians like himself.

It took a while before he finally reached the better part of the city, though many of the buildings seemed newly built as well. Lying on the sides of the curb were rows of little shops and merchants of all trades, and here, it seemed, was where most of the city’s visitors had gathered. Along the street were hollers of different accents, which returned a little bit of esprit back into a battered city—although the bustling era Qu Yang City had once hosted had become bygone times.

The man with the bamboo hat did not stop his journey there, either. He walked on until he reached the east of the city.

Strangely, the eastern part of the city was in a far superior state than the other areas he had been to, with only a few buildings situating on the outskirts of the area having suffered damage. Arriving at the center of the area, one would be surprised to find that it had remained the same as it was before whatever calamity struck this city. It was almost as if the war had not reached here at all.

On the Eastern part of the city, Xi Kuang Street, an eye-catching, lofty building overshadowed any other buildings on the same street. On the large plate hanging at the entrance were the words announcing “Heavenly Wu Arms Shop”.

The man with the bamboo hat strode into the building. At the entrance, a few errand boys were darting about with their respective business, but the place was otherwise devoid of customers.

“This lowly shop offers a variety of spirit tools and raw materials. Anything on your mind, sir?”

One of the younger attendants, catching a customer entering, instantly went to him with a bright smile.

“I would like to have a word with Master Xu Lu, please.”

“My apologies, sir. Elder Xu is now practicing solitary cultivation in the weapon forging room. If there’s any message you would like to relay, you may pass it to this lowly one instead,” the attendant smilingly replied as he scanned the man with the bamboo hat from head to toe.

Instead of replying, the man flipped his wrist, and a new object was in his palm: a glowing, transparent orange plate with a strange and lively eight-headed chimera carved on its surface.

The young attendant’s eyes had only lingered on the plate for a while before the colors on his face changed. “Sincere apologies, this lowly one had no idea he was in the presence of an esteemed, premium customer. Please wait a while, sir. I’ll be back shortly,” he babbled.

A few moments later, the attendant had led the man with the bamboo hat to an elegant chamber on the third floor.

It was modestly furnished, with only a gilded three-pane wooden screen placed after a round table in the middle of the chamber. Sitting next to the table sipping tea was none other than Master Xu Lu in his green robe.

He did not stand up upon seeing his customer. Instead, he sipped his tea before speaking, “Please announce yourself, sir, as well as your purpose of seeing me.”

The man with the bamboo hat stood before him, but he remained quiet.

Xu Lu waved at the attendant. The latter, aware of its implicit meaning, instantly walked out of the chamber and closed the door.

With the creaking sound of the door shutting, the man instantly took off his hat before Xu Lu could ask anything else, barring a youthful face of fine features etched on a slightly dark complexion.

“Shi Mu!” Xu Lu blurted in a mild surprise.

“I’m surprised you still remember this lowly one after all these years, Master Xu. How are you doing?” Shi Mu said, grinning.

“Ho ho, well nothing much—oh,” Xu Lu was about to say something, but he cut himself off with an exclamation. “You progress very quickly, Sect Fellow Shi! You’ve already achieved Earth-rank status.”

“This lowly one stumbled upon some fortunate encounters purely through luck ever since leaving Dongzhou Continent,” Shi Mu answered simply.

What he didn’t say was that for this past half-year, Shi Mu’s mood and outlook on life had been profoundly affected by what the Azure Ape King had divulged to him. It was even causing him to plateau, unable to cross the tenth level of the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape—otherwise, he would have already achieved Mid-earth rank by now.

“You’re humble, Sect Fellow Shi. The wise believe that luck is merely an extension of the totality of one’s power. Come now, take a seat over here.” Seeing that Shi Mu was reluctant to talk about his new progress, Xu Lu wisely changed the subject.

“Master Xu, the reason why this lowly one is here is because he is looking for information regarding a certain someone,” Shi Mu spoke frankly after taking his seat.

“Who would that be?”

“Zhong Xiu.”

Xu Lu’s eyebrow raised. “Elder Zhong, I presume?”

“Correct. Do you have any news about her?”

Xu Lu instantly shook his head.

“Please tell anything you know, Master Xu. This lowly one would pay any cost,” Shi Mu urged, extending his cupped hands even further from his chest in a pleading gesture.

“To be honest with you, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you anything… The Chamber of Commerce itself is just as desperate to get any news on her as well,” Xu Lu sighed.

“You mean… even with the network of intelligence all around the continent, the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce has no news of her?” Shi Mu asked.

“I speak only the truth, Sect Fellow Shi. You see, someone as talented and competent as Elder Zhong is bound to be one of the Chamber’s most valued. She had contributed much to the Chamber in the Western He continent, and as news of her deeds spread, the President had issued an order to train and develop her even more before sending her out as our emissary to the Demon race before having her host our auction in Rising Sun City,” Xu Lu explained as he studied Shi Mu.

“Yes, she was indeed with me during the auction,” Shi Mu replied.

“Mm. However, after the auction, Elder Zhong vanished mysteriously. When the news of her disappearance reached us, there were rumors that you were involved Who knew that after a while, you yourself would disappear as well?”

“Master Xu, do you also believe that this lowly one was behind Zhong Xiu’s disappearance?”

“Haha, oh no. After some thorough investigation, the Chamber had exonerated you from any suspicion. To be honest, Sect Fellow Shi, Elder Zhong’s location and movement had always been under the Chamber’s surveillance. Regardless of where she was, this association would employ a secret technique to locate her. It’s really to ensure our members’ safety,” Xu Lu explained, extending his palms upward.

Shi Mu’s eyebrow raised. He asked, “The Chamber knows of her actual location, then?”

“The problem is this—the Chamber had tried to use our secret technique to locate Elder Zhong for a long time, repetitively, ever since she vanished. Yet, we found not a single trace,” Lu Xu shook his head, “It was like she had vaporized from this world.”

Shi Mu kept quiet for a while before finally coming clean, “I… was actually there with Zhong Xiu the day she disappeared.”

“Wha-what? What happened that day?” The shock on Xu Lu’s face was palpable.

“Zhong Xiu had suddenly fallen into some sort of coma that day. Her body was feverish, and then suddenly she burst into flames. I wanted to save her, only to end up getting burned by the fire myself. It was so intense… I fainted from the heat,” Shi Mu replied after a few moments of silence, his eyebrows furrowed. “When I woke up, she was gone.”

He then further described the details of that fateful day to Xu Lu, although he had deliberately left out the part about himself absorbing the flames.

“Who would have predicted the truth to be this bizarre…” Xu Lu remarked. Frowning, he sank deep into thought.

“Oh, and while I drifted in and out of consciousness, I heard something weird.”

“What was it?” Xu Lu asked.

“I wasn’t very lucid, but I could hear an unknown woman’s voice mentioning something about Heavenly Phoenix or something like that, and then she mentioned something along the line of self-attack… I wasn’t clear in the head back then, so that was the most I could make out,” Shi Mu replied.

Xu Lu lapsed into silence as he pondered for a while before speaking again.

“This old man believed that Elder Zhong may have been experiencing the Second Awakening of her bloodline.”

“Second Awakening?” Shi Mu was stunned.

“The triggering reason to the Second Awakening of one’s bloodline is a complicated one, and usually occurs because the holder’s first awakening was incomplete. However, judging from the description of Elder Zhong’s circumstances, I have a feeling that her bloodline was not the Sound of Phoenix.”

“If it’s not the Sound of Phoenix, then what could it be?” Shi Mu asked.

“The Third Rank Sound of Phoenix bloodline may be a rare, uncommon bloodline in its own rights, but its awakening should not have been so dangerous. Combine that with the words that the unknown woman said, Elder Zhong is very likely to have awakened the legendary Heavenly Phoenix bloodline. Only a bloodline of such power could cause what you described, as well as putting its possessor in a near-death state upon its awakening.”

Shi Mu listened intently and thought for a while before asking, “What do you know about this Heavenly Phoenix bloodline, Master Xu?”