The Portal of Wonderland

“Let him come in. You may take your leave,” a hoarse voice said from behind the stone door.

“Understood.”

The green-skinned attendant nodded. Giving Shi Mu one last look, he turned around and left.

Shi Mu went up a few steps and pushed the stone door open, revealing a red flame. Upon entering, he saw a fire stove connected to the trench outside the house, through which the magma flowed.

Next to the flame stood a man with a small yet strong body, holding a piece of metal with a pair of iron tongs. He was roasting it on the fire.

The dwarf was not as tall as Shi Mu, and his face looked human. Half of his face was covered with thick gray whiskers, which was tied up neatly and braided in front of his chest. His muscles were bulging and his dark red skin reflected the glow of the flames. His name was Yong Zhu.

“Master of refining…” Shi Mu said.

“Give it to me.”

Before Shi Mu could finished his sentence, the dwarven man extended his wide palm and spoke.

“Yes, of course,” Shi Mu responded and respectfully handed him the casting hammer.

“Eh!”

The master of refining placed the casting hammer in front of his eyes and looked at it slightly. He couldn’t help but scoff and looked up at Shi Mu.

Shi Mu remained calm and locked eyes with him.

“If I remember correctly, this was left for a hundred-year-old disciple named Leng Chan. Who are you to him?” Yong Zhu asked.

“I have no relations with him in particular,” Shi Mu answered honestly.

“Then why is this token in your possession?”

“The elder said whoever possessed his token could claim the weapon from the master of refining.”

The master squinted up at Shi Mu and then turned his eyes back to the casting hammer.

“I’m not sure who gave you this token but did they not mention that the exchange is time-limited?”

“I have never heard of it,” said the shocked Shi Mu.

“Is it that surprising? I made a deal with the disciple Leng Chan back then and we agreed on the terms of 30 years. However, I have been waiting for him for almost forty years. Now, I’ve already resold spirit weapon several years ago.”

“As far as I know, at that time, you failed to produce the spirit weapon in time for certain reasons. Now you’re saying there is a due date to the token? How is this sensible business management?” Shi Mu frowned and said bluntly.

“Don’t be so paranoid. The weapons were overdue, but since you came here with the token, I can’t let you leave empty-handed. I have two choices to offer you. You either decide on which one you’re going to accept or leave and never come back.”

“What kind of choices?”

“One of the choices is that you can wait a few more years and I can tailor a new spirit weapon for you based on the characteristics of your cultivation. Nothing can compare to my refining tools, so you don’t have to provide me with any materials. All you would need to do is pay for the construction fee.”

“What about the other choice then?”

“The second choice is that there are some spirit weapons in my gallery. You can pick any one of them as compensation.”

“Is it really possible for me to choose one? Any of them?” Shi Mu asked in amazement.

“Don’t be too quick to get on your toes yet. The spirit weapons available are of either the highest or lowest level. If you were to choose one, you can only choose those that aren’t within the prohibition ban. You can’t perceive the nature and grade of the weapons so the choices you make would be purely based on luck. Just a heads up, the weapons available there are of lower grade. Well, make up your mind now.”

“I think I’ll go with the second choice.”

Shi Mu’s said without hesitation, though his brows wrinkled slightly.

Yong Zhu was stunned by how quick Shi Mu made his decision. He did not anticipate Shi Mu would take the second choice.

“Tell me, why didn’t you go for the safer choice which would only take a few years of waiting?” Yong Zhu asked as he stared into Shi Mu’s eyes.

“I need a handy spirit weapon urgently, and it can’t wait.”

Time was not on Shi Mu’s side so he had to make this decision, but that was only part of the reason for his choice.

The main reason was because the skill he practiced could not be made known to the others. It would be almost impossible to let the master of refining record the details of his cultivation.

Additionally, he was confident in his own strength and powers. Even if he was not allowed to pick the weapons that were within the ban, he believed he could still manage to choose a good quality weapon.

“Since you have decided, you can’t change your mind. Now, come with me,” Yong Zhu said as he turned around and walked toward the stone house.

After a while, Yong Zhu stood in front of a seemingly unremarkable wall. His hands glowed red, followed by a light touch in front.

Chi chi chi….

With a sound of grinding friction, the stone house wall in front of Shi Mu collapsed, revealing a black passageway that was only half a foot high.

“Follow me closely..” Yong Zhu said and led the way.

Shi Mu staggered and followed hurriedly, walking close behind Yong Zhu.

The passage extended a dozen meters below ground, and it was connected to a closed stone-built room.

Upon entering the room, Shi Mu noticed a stone chamber dome, inlaid with seven fist-sized night pearls. It was sprinkled with white light, making it the only light source in the house.

Around the house were ebony shelves full of grotesque weapons.

“Well, the spirit weapons are all here. You can pick one now. Remember, you only have one chance. Once you step out of this room, you can’t come back to change it,” Yong Zhu said as he stood at the corner of the secret chamber with his fist on his chest.

Shi Mu nodded and released his spirit senses. The wooden shelves were covered with an invisible prohibition, which separated the spirit sense from invading it.

As his eyes flashed, he quickly browsed through the spirit weapons in the wooden frame.

Due to his mastery with long knives, a long-handled sheathed broadsword that was on the top left of the wooden frame.

The blade was not wide or narrow but it was four feet long. The body was pitch black and the tip was slightly exposed, scattering a cold light.

However, his spirit sense could not see the spiritual fluctuation of the sabre or the grade of its material. It was as if the weapon was just another ordinary sharp sword.

Shi Mu then looked at a spherical weapon next to him. Suddenly, it struck him that he still could not see through the weapon’s specifications.

After several trials, he could not help but smile.

His spirit sense could not be used here. It would not help him at all.

His choice would have to depend on luck, just as the master had told him.

He was frustratedly helpless and once again flashed his eyes across the room. He began to take a closer look at the weapons located on the top left of the ebony frame. He carefully observed each and every single one of them individually.

He looked for almost the whole day. Yong Zhu was extremely patient but did not rush Shi Mu. All he did was stand in the corner touching his chin from time to time in amusement.

At this point, Shi Mu had already looked through every single spirit weapon on the shelves. It was extremely difficult to come to a decision as he was unable to sense the attributes of the weapons at all.

He thought about it for some time and finally decided to choose the long-handled sheathed broadsword that had initially caught his eye. Even if it was not of a high grade, it could still be wielded smoothly, and he was interested in putting it to use.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, the corner of his eyes suddenly caught something that was sitting on the ebony frame. It was leaned against a Black Meteoric Longstaff that was as tall as the frame itself.

Being almost the exact color and length as the wooden frame, Shi Mu’s eyes had previously glazed over it and saw only the weapon on top. Despite looking through the entire room, he had missed this.

Shi Mu stunned a few steps forward and fixed his eyes on the Black Meteoric Longstaff.

Upon closer inspection, the staff was as long as he figured. It was as thick as an arm and black in color. The appearance of the weapon was nowhere near smooth. It was covered with tiny potholes, like it was hastily hammered straight out of the forge.

Each end of the Black Meteoric Longstaff had a darker area where fine runes would be carved on it.

As Shi Mu stared at the weapon, he suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart. It felt like the sky had fallen into his hands and images began appearing in his mind.

He immediately raised his hand and pointed at the Black Meteoric Long Stave as he turned and looked at Yong Zhu.

Before he could even say anything, he stared straight into Yong Zhu’s eyes with a fascinated look.

Shi Mu saw this and was intrigued. At this point, even the last bit of doubt in his heart had been left behind.

“Oh respected master of refining, I choose this Black Meteoric Longstaff.”

Yong Zhu’s brows arched a few times before he sighed helplessly and spoke.

“Oh… well. That’s not bad for someone with your luck,” he said as the red light in his hand began to glow brightly.

He held his two fingers tight together and pointed toward the seven night pearls that were shining on top of the chamber. One of the seven night pearls dimmed into darkness.

Seeing Yong Zhu’s gesture, the Black Meteoric Longstaff flew off the shelf toward Shi Mu.

Shi Mu single-handedly grasped it and immediately released his spirit sense. He waved the stave in his hands a few times. However, the original joy he had on his face suddenly disappeared.

“Sure enough, it is a higher-grade spirit weapon but unfortunately it is too light. The feeling isn’t that great,” Shi Mu said with some regret.

As a result, his voice fell and his hands sunk as well. The Black Meteoric Longstaff slipped out of his grip and fell to the ground.

This time, he was shocked. He looked up at Yong Zhu and noticed that he was looking at him with a somewhat creepy grin, as if there was some truth behind the smile.