The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu’s chest moved up and down. His complexion was pale. His palm was a little red, but it didn’t hurt.

He walked over to the broken stone and grabbed a handful of stone’s fragments. His eyes flickered brightly. The faint trace of a smile glittered across his face.

He could finally produce an incredible power by coordinating his Real Qi with his inborn strength. He could’ve crushed the millstone-sized stone with a single punch before as well, but not to such an extent.

Shi Mu recalled the day when he had a life-or-death fight with the Fifth Master of the Jin Family. The Fifth Master’s Blood Palm wouldn’t have posed any danger to him if he had this palm strength back then. In fact, he would’ve been a well-matched opponent to him.

Shi Mu’s eyes moved. He turned over his hand and released the fragments of the blue stone as he shook his head.

His palm’s might was incredible, but it had consumed his stored Real Qi. Therefore, he would have to sit in meditation to restore his Real Qi.

Moreover, he needed to continue with his practice if he wanted to confront an intermediate stage Hou Tian Warrior like the Fifth Master of the Jin family; the more the condensation – the more the Real Qi accumulation.

He returned to his room and sat down cross-legged on his stone bed. There was a hint of hesitation on his face.

He needed to plan his timing appropriately for his future training. It was important for him to continue to practice the Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants so that he could achieve the basic standard needed to practice the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape.

Shi Mu didn’t have any extra Flaming Demon Token to use in exchange for more Hou Tian level martial arts techniques. Therefore, he could only proceed with his ‘Gale-Force Blade’ Art and ‘Stone-Breaking Fist’ Art.

However, he had mastered these two martial arts techniques till their advanced stages. So, he could cope-up with the current situation with the support from his Real Qi in a perfect manner.

Shi Mu pondered for a while. Then, he picked up the light-red jade slip and placed it against his forehead. He then started to recite it.

He had to thoroughly memorize the contents of the jade slip before the end of the third day even though he couldn’t yet practice the Art of Breeding a Strong Evil Ape.

Two crisp sounds echoed on the noon of the third day. This awakened Shi Mu who was still sitting cross-legged in meditation.

He opened his eyes to see two small piles of fine dust on his bed – one of them was white and the other red. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly.

It turned out that Meng Gu was right. The copy of the jade slips that he had received from the Blood Chamber had self-destructed at the end of the third day.

Fortunately, he had thoroughly memorized the contents of both the slips.

Suddenly, a sound of footsteps was heard from outside his room. This was followed by a knock on his door.

Shi Mu’s brows wrinkled as he got up to open the door. There were two people standing outside his room; they were Bai Shi and Xiao Ming.

“Brother Shi, we didn’t see you for three days. Were you practicing martial arts technique behind the closed door? If you’re that concerned with your practice… then don’t be in a hurry. We’re going on a walk around the mountains to know our Sect a bit better. Is brother Shi interested in joining us?” Bai Shi said with a soft smile.

Shi Mu quickly considered the invitation and replied with a smile, “Good idea! I was getting bored the last few days. So, I was also planning to go outside for a walk.”

Shi Mu was well-aware of the brutal rules of the Black Demon Sect. He knew that the Sect encouraged its disciples to compete with each other. In fact, the disciples had formed several small groups like the he had encountered on the first day of his arrival.

It was time for the new disciples to look for their comrades and form a group. Moreover, it was estimated that several new groups would soon come into existence. Bai Shi had seen Shi Mu’s fight with Qu Kun. Therefore, he had a fair idea of his astonishing strength. Therefore, Bai Shi and Xiao Ming wanted to be friends with Shi Mu.

Shi Mu couldn’t reject such a good chance either. Besides, he wanted to inquire about the Sect and the place from where he could buy the pills. The Bone Tempering Pills were required to practice the Art of Breeding Heavenly Elephants. But, Shi Mu had no idea where he could acquire these pills from.

“Haha… Great! We shouldn’t delay now… Let’s move!” Bai Shi and Xiao Ming gladly looked at each other as they heard Shi Mu’s reply.

“Oh, that’s correct. We should invite some other disciples as well,” Xiao Ming suggested in a casual tone.

“Hmm… I think the girl who had bells hanging from her clothes lives nearby…” Bai Shi nodded in agreement as he pointed his finger towards a stone house.

The three of them started to move towards the girl’s house while chatting casually…

Soon it was night. Shi Mu breathed steadily and slowly as he lay on his bed.

His bed was placed against the window. So, the bright moonlight fell directly on his body as it flooded the room. Shi Mu’s body moved slightly up and down as it shimmered in the white light; just like the surface of the water.

…

The steep mountain peak shot-up towards the sky. The mountain’s massive form was black and glossy in texture; there were hardly any trees. The surrounding area was covered with a range of hills. However, no other hill could surpass it since it was the tallest peak. It was surrounded by a cluster of hills in the same way as the moon is surrounded by the stars.

The mountain peak was a stretch of spacious open area which was filled with grass and weed.

This vast area was densely populated with various wild animals like tigers, panthers, wolves, bears, birds, foxes, rabbits and so on.

These animals had assumed different postures. A few of them were standing; some were squatting and some crawling. Surprisingly, tigers could be seen with rabbits, and bears could be seen with foxes.

Their postures were different from each other; it seemed very unusual.

These beasts are supposed to attack each other. However, they had swarmed around a white jade stone with their heads lowered.

An old man sat cross-legged on the white jade stone. He had a long white beard. His eyebrows were white and very long; so much so that they were hanging down to his waist.

There was a wooden ruler in the old man’s hand. The old man looked gently at the surrounding animals as he moved his lips. It seemed as if he was saying something.

The chilly evening breeze combed the weeds and produced intermittent ripples through the tall grass.

However, the gathered beasts stared at the old man constantly. They listened to him carefully with extreme attention and devotion; they were motionless.

The tallest mountain peak was calm except for the faint voice of the old man which could be heard reverberating in the night sky.

Suddenly, a white ape pushed his way through the crowd. There was a trace of anxiety on its face. It scratched its cheeks and ears in a restless manner.

The ape tried to listen to the old man’s words. However, it couldn’t understand a single word spoken by the old man even though the old man’s voice rang in its ears.

The ape noticed the surrounding beasts as they listened to the old man with great concentration. This increased its agitation. Finally, the ape couldn’t endure and issued a faint groan.

The ape’s groan sounded harsh in the tranquil surroundings even though it was faint. The old man stopped speaking as he heard it.

The other beasts stared at the white ape. But, they didn’t make any movement because of the presence of the old man.

The old man shifted his gaze towards the white ape. Then, he stood up and slowly walked towards it.

The other beasts got up and started to move aside to make way for the old man. These animals looked at the ape in a contemptuous and hostile manner.

The white ape bent down towards the old man with a pleading look in its eyes. Then, he exuded a soft cry as it scratched its head.

The old man with long eyebrows smiled as he gently patted the white ape’s head thrice with the wooden ruler.

The white ape’s body quivered violently as the wooden ruler touched its head; it seemed as if three startling thunder claps had crashed inside its mind.

Suddenly, the white ape’s eyes lit-up with brightness as a startling thought flashed through its mind.

The ape was struck by enlightenment as the meaning of the words spoken by the old man became clear to it.

“Creak”

The white ape scratched its ears and cheeks again. The ape’s face brimmed with joy as the surrounding beasts threw envious and disdainful looks towards it. The ape lowered its hands in the front as it kneeled before the old man.