The Portal of Wonderland

The golden staff hit the ground hard yet the reaction force did not cancel out the searing flames emanating from its body. Instead, it blazed even more intensely, so much so that the air around the staff was cackling with the sounds of air popping while one could almost see air particles boiling.

The gigantic white ape’s eyes lingered on the gigantic golden staff, its eyes blasting with light; The golden staff, meanwhile, was actually shuddering on its own, emitting what sounded like a string of low whimpers.

For some reason, Shi Mu felt a pang of nostalgia—as if he had finally reunited with an old friend from a long, long time ago.

The white ape suddenly lunged forward, extending its right hand, and gripped onto the golden staff.

A devastating aura suddenly broke out upon contact, propagating through every direction and side as if everything within a hundred square-miles radius had been forced to halt in its motion. The earth quaked so much rocks were hopping.

Streams of white air started pooling into the sky above them from everywhere. They circumambulated the tip of the staff in visible white cyclones reaching right into endless height of the stratosphere.

Flames from the golden staff caught onto the gigantic white ape’s arm, wrapping upwards in circles until it had completely enshrouded its body. Through the sputtering flames, the white ape looked as if it had donned a majestic armor fashioned from pure flames. Even is own erstwhile weakening breath was gradually returning!

At the very next second, with a whoosh, a twenty-odd yard long tapestry of fire spread out from the ape’s ape. It billowed in the wind like a golden cape.

The white ape’s eyes bloomed with full golden lights as an air of regality—the way a king would look at those subjected under his rule—radiated from its entire being.

Then, gripping the staff like it was clutching onto a spear, it tapped the staff onto the ground and vaulted forward, lifting its staff—blazing and bursting in white flames—into a full arch towards the golden Jiao dragon.

The time it had taken from the golden staff’s arrival to the white ape’s first attack using it took only about a few seconds.

Meanwhile, still guarding itself with its almost-corporeal golden barrier was the golden Jiao dragon, standing on its ground without any change to its defensive strategy. Since deflecting the rising gales caused by the staff’s arrival with the translucent golden shield on its body, it had not since moved on to any other actions.

But when white streams of air and blazing droves of inferno were about to strike towards it, the golden Jiao dragon’s eyes finally belied traces of fear as it willed the golden light around it to flood towards itself like a tidal wave before they weaved themselves into a big, golden net standing between itself and the incoming attack.

The golden net may appear to be fragile and breakable, but it was actually durabke enough to hold thousand pounds at bay.

However, it appeared to be of no match to the incoming golden staff blazing with white flames—in a flash, its momentum had tore through the golden net without any struggle before continuing onwards to its target.

“Aucch!” The golden Jiao dragon let out an enraged cry, its eyes popping wide open in rage as it swiped its gigantic golden claws towards the golden rod.

Bang!

With a crash, a dazzling ball of golden light exploded into rings of gold and white aura spreading across the land, causing even the clouds in the skies to be pushed backwards.

Within the chaos, the golden Jiao dragon’s mammoth-sized body flew backwards forcefully, its gilded scales bursting away from its skin while sprays of blood sprouted out of its wounds!

Unsettling jagged lines spread from the tip of the Jiao dragon’s claws before they started to break, fragments by fragments, before reaching up to the Jiao dragon’s abdomen, then to its head—until the entire Jiao dragon suddenly exploded in midair into a downpour of blood mist!

The white ape was still clutching onto the golden staff after the attack. It soon became clear that everything within the square-mile had all been decimated by its force—even the thirteenth mountain of the Black Demon Sect had at least two-thirds of its body completely shredded. Even the twelfth and the elevenths mountains had been affected greatly, as new, unnerving carvings marred the cliffs where an avalanche of boulders had broken out from, with the latter crushing the houses and buildings below into rubbles.

Owing to the Great Elder’s systematic planning, the members of the Black Demon Sect managed to escape being casualties to this calamity. They watched from the mountain even farther than they were, petrified at the power imbued in that single blow.

It was then when a single figure completely coated in red flashed out of the mist before fleeing to a distance.

The white ape reacted by giving out a low growl, swinging its golden staff and leaping forward into the air to pursuit the figure. However, it had barely rose to half of the desired distance before its body plummeted from the air headfirst into the earth.

When the dust cleared, the gigantic white ape was lying down in the crater of its own making, its eyes fluttering a few times before slowly shutting permanently.

The golden aura receded form the white ape’s eyes until they remained as a single ring outlining jet-black pupils. It shed layers of furs as its body shrank dramatically back into the size of an average human.

The golden staff, meanwhile, left the ape’s hand as it emitted a low whimper before turning into a single arc of golden light vanishing into the sky.

Fifteen minutes has passed since any major movement had ceased. Nevertheless, the Black Demon Sect could only watched from where they stood, not one among them brave enough to come closer.

….

Under the Eastern Sea.

What was left of the black mountain where the golden staff was hidden in had become a gigantic crater surrounded by small mounds of black rubbles, turning the ocean bed into a mess.

The passel of Sea Race individuals had taken their seats on these black reefs. Some were tending to others who had been hurt, while some were murmuring among themselves. Regardless of their activities, all of them were wearing a sunken and defeated expression.

Xiang Zhu was no different. Her face was gloomy as she sighed, “All that work over the years… for nothing.”

“Perhaps it is not our destiny to claim what is not ours, especially something as invaluable as the regalia,” the beautiful woman in palace garment said consolably, caressing Xiang Zhu’s delicate hair. “You should not blame yourself for this, dear Zhu.”

Xiang Zhu shook her head in silence.

Suddenly, the Eastern Sea shook and rocked.

The water suddenly trashed violently about again into tidal waves before they swirled into a gigantic whirlpool boring out a large cavity in the seabed.

The Sea Race had yet let out a collective gasp of bewilderment before a single flash of gold shot out from a distance in the sky.

Right before their eyes, the golden flash revealed itself to be a thirty yard -long golden staff piercing straight through the ocean before lodging straight into the bottom of the ocean. Then, once it was erecting firmly, the surface of the staff shone as it enlarged.

Accompanied by the golden light, the staff elongated until its diameter fit the crater perfectly, pushing the water away from it as it expanded. The entire action had only stopped once the tip of the staff broke out of the water and grew to about ten yards above the surface.

Even more incredibly, as the staff scintillated in gold, it started to emit a very weak yet palpable ripples through the water for about within a ten-miles radius. Then, as if they were answering some kind of calling, every single black rock in the sea around it started to vibrate in rhythms. A few moments later, they levitated from wherever spot they were resting on and swam towards the golden staff.

These rocks, as if made out of iron and were now attracted to a gigantic magnet, started to gel themselves around the golden staff. It took only a few moments before these layers of rocks covered the golden staff completely, obscuring its scintillating golden glow. More black boulders and rocks gathered, piling themselves onto the inner layer as new rocks glued themselves onto the layer before them until finally, the entire golden staff was wrapped.

Rising from the surface of the Eastern Sea, once again, was a twenty- to thirty odd high black island where black mist hung around it like a shroud.

The Sea Race gawked at the newly-birthed mountain with a perplexed expression, now completely unsure of what to do.

“Master…? What just…?” Even Xiang Zhu was confused at the apparent return of the regalia.

“This is a miracle… Nevertheless, since it has returned to us, our people may still have a chance,” the beautiful woman murmured.

Xiang Zhu thought for a while and said, “Master, I’m positive that the golden staff encased by these rocks is more than what us mortals could comprehend—which means that even the Grand Ultimate Soul Spell may not be able to subdue it.”

“Fine point, Little Zhu. Hai Yan, take some men with you and return to the Grand Eastern Palace. Tell the Great Elder everything,” The beautiful woman said after pondering on Xiang Zhu’s comment.

“Yes, ma’am.” A large man with black scales covering his skin quickly bolted up before leaving with a group of ten-odd men with him.

“Master, are you going to ask for the Great Elder’s help?” Xiang Zhu asked.

“From the looks of it, I suspect the only way to subdue this regalia would be through the Great Elder’s ultimate power—the Vessel of the Ocean God. Anything less than that would likely end with failures,” the beautiful woman replied, before commanding, “Spread the words, Xiang Zhu. We reinstate the grand formation for the Grand Ultimate Soul Spell!”

“Yes, Master.”

…

In a crater close to the thirteenth mountain of the Black Demon Sect, the earth was scrunching as Shi Mu stirred from its spot at the bottom of the crater.

He was stark naked, but at least his wounds had vanished just as his clothes were. Unfortunately, he could feel his head throbbing while the rest of his body were so weak it was as if he was severely dehydrated.

It took a while for Shi Mu to recover his senses before he could finally stand up—somewhat—while holding his heavy, unclear head upright.

Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, Shi Mu let out a bitter laugh. The golden staff that had appeared out from nowhere from before… had vanished. His mind raced back to the moment the white ape had held onto the regalia descended from the heaven—that single blow that it had landed seemed to have left just as much of an impression in Shi Mu’s chest, too.

What was that thing? With it, even a Late-Heaven Stage demonic beast turned into minced meat!

Shi Mu sighed, producing a shirt from the Storage ring to cover his body. He then sat cross-legged right there in the bottom of the crater with one Mid-range Spirit Stone in two hands.

As he replenished his lost energy, his mind wandered with thousands of thoughts.

According to the message left by the White Ape Demon King, it would take the nine-headed Golden Jiao’s true body about half a year to reach the Cerulean Sea Star. Nobody expected another one of its clone-body to lie so much closer, however—close enough to reach here so soon.

It didn’t take half a mind to know that the nine-headed Golden Jiao’s appearance here would mark the extinction event of the entire planet, one that even Shi Mu’s transformation into the white ape would aid none.

At this point of thought, Shi Mu was too eager to leave. After replenishing some of his Real Qi, Shi My rose from his position, summoning his Green-wibnged Flying Carriage. Then, he turned into a trail of emerald light heading to the Northeast direction.