The Portal of Wonderland

‘Bang!’ a loud sound was heard.

The blood-red spear-shadow flashed and dissipated to reveal a curved scarlet-colored spear-head.

Shi Mu transformed his hand into a fist to grab the spear. He then exerted pressure to pull it towards himself.

A man’s shadow flashed from the smoke all of a sudden. And, his half-naked body was made visible; he was holding the spear. He was a tall and sturdy barbarian. However, he was swaying from one side to the other with an expression of astonishment on his face.

He was one of the two high-level Hou Tian totem warriors who had been assigned to guard the northern exit. He looked as strong as a bull owing to his muscular arms. It seemed that he possessed great physical strength. However, he looked like a child in front of Shi Mu’s upgraded strength.

Shi Mu ejected his fist with lightning speed to hit the totem warrior before he could even react.

The barbarian man was so startled that he threw the spear, and crossed his arms in front of his chest to protect himself.

‘Bang!’ a loud sound echoed.

The barbarian man felt a gigantic force of energy upon his robust arms. The impact of the strike deformed and broke his arms. Then, a clenched fist hit his chest with great force.

The robust barbarian cried out loudly as his body was sent flying upside-down. His body then knocked severely against the stone walls of the channel. The muck from the walls slid to the ground. The barbarian vomited several fragments of his internal organs along with blood, and died.

Shi Mu had upgraded his body to double its original strength with the help of his tremendous strength cultivation skills. He had also used his real Qi in dealing with this totem barbarian. Therefore, he had been successful in killing a high-level Hou Tian totem warrior with a single strike of his fist.

The spirits of Feng Li and the others were lifted as they saw this.

However, this delay gave the barbarians more time to react. They bellowed once again, and surrounded the charm magicians.

“Attack!”

Shi Mu shouted out loudly. He then drew out his black blade. After that, he stimulated the Fiery Inflammation Charm Spells, and threw himself in front of the barbarians.

A series of scarlet-red blade-lights flashed.

It seemed as if a wolf had entered into a flock of sheep. Shi Mu’s strength had reached to the consummate level of the Thirteen Series of Gale Force Knife’ Art. Two totem barbarian warriors were severed into several pieces in a blink of an eye.

However, the other charm magicians behind Shi Mu didn’t seem to be in a good condition.

The martial arts cultivation of all the people — except Feng Li and Qing Feng — wasn’t good. So, they couldn’t fight the enemy in a direct confrontation.

Suddenly, a sword hit the arm of a charm magician of the Wind and Fire Sect. He screamed and fell to the ground. The barbarian who stood next to him had a fierce look on his face. Then, a thick wolf-tooth stick pounded and fell onto the charm magician.

The charm magician looked helplessly since he didn’t know how to dodge the attack.

Shi Mu wrinkled his brows. He then jumped in the air, and came flying to attack the barbarian man with his black blade.

‘Kacha!’ a snapping sound was heard.

The wolf-tooth stick was broken into two halves, and sent flying in the air.

The barbarian man’s arm also shot up in the sky along with a spurt of blood. He then screamed and collapsed on the ground.

“Get up! Don’t keep lying here if you wish to stay alive. Move forward!” Shi Mu pulled-up the charm magician of the Wind and Fire Sect from the ground and shouted.

The charm magician had survived. However, he was quivering, and his complexion had turned pale. After that, all the charm magicians rushed towards the exit.

Shi Mu’s black blade transmitted several blade-lights as he shook his arm. The barbarians who had been surrounding Shi Mu were forced to move back. And, their way to the exit had finally been cleared.

Shi Mu and the others had already rushed out of the exit. They could even dodge the attack successfully if they put some more effort.

Shi Mu had started to feel fearful owing to the approaching disaster; so much so that he got goose-bumps. Suddenly, a vague green light flashed in front of him.

Shi Mu’s complexion changed. He then dodged a ray of black blade-light that flashed in front of him, and chopped the body of the person before him.

Then, a metal clanging sound was heard. The spark from the collision dispersed in all directions.

Shi Mu’s body shook, and his hands became numb.

The black light also went flying after this strike. It was shot to the sides of the stone wall, and had left a fist-sized black hole behind. The light had hit the wall with great force; it was hard to tell how deep the wall had been penetrated.

Suddenly, Shi Mu turned his head as he felt something. He saw a young barbarian standing at the exit door. The color of his skin was deep-green. He was staring at Shi Mu in a wicked manner.

The barbarian man’s aura wasn’t formidable. He seemed to be a middle-level Hou Tian warrior. But, he was holding a long white bow made up of bones. A few tiny charm characters were carved on the surface of the bow. It seemed to be a magic weapon. It was a rare middle level magic tool; its magic power seemed to be similar to that of the black meteoric-iron blade.

Shi Mu became more fearful as he saw that. A sack of arrows was hung by the waist of this green-skinned barbarian man. A total of ten long arrows could be seen in the sack. A carved inscription of grain-sized charm characters could be seen on each of the arrows. They were also emitting waves of magic power. They seemed to be magic arrows.

Suddenly, Shi Mu’s complexion changed. He stomped his foot on the ground, and lifted his body in the air. He then launched himself – as if an arrow had been launched from the bow-string – towards the green-skinned barbarian.

The green-skinned man didn’t bend down to pull an arrow as he saw Shi Mu coming towards him. Instead, he stretched out his hand backwards, and drew out a long bronze-colored iron mace.

This mace was half the size of the iron maces used by humans. However, sparkling charm characters in an earthly-yellow-color were carved on its surface. It turned out that it was a low-level magic weapon.

“Go to hell!”

The green-skinned barbarian man waved his iron mace like a sword towards Shi Mu. It was about to hit Shi Mu in his chest.

However, Shi Mu didn’t try to dodge the attack. Instead, he shook the black blade in his hand. The blade turned into a dazzling scarlet-red blade-light, and shot towards the green-skinned barbarian man’s head in a threatening manner.

The green-skinned man was shocked. He quickly placed his mace before him to dodge the scarlet-red blade-lights.

Suddenly, Shi Mu stopped the momentum of his blade, and lifted his body upwards. He then gripped his blade tightly with both hands, and took a position to severe the green-skinned man as he would fall downwards.

Shi Mu imitated the ‘Flying Eagle of the Ninth Heaven’ move that he had seen while fighting with Wu Tong. Shi Mu had concealed this move inside him. He looked like a gigantic black eagle as he pounced downwards from the sky.

The green-skinned man was stunned. He quickly lifted the mace in his hand to dodge the attack.

Suddenly, a yellow glow started to emanate out of the tip of the mace. Thick rays of light shot out of it, and went flying towards the black blade.

The yellow and the red rays hit each other and got dissipated.

The green-skinned man’s body was sent flying in the air. He got knocked against the walls near the exit door, and spurted out a mouthful of blood.

Shi Mu didn’t even look at him. Instead, he jumped out of the exit.

“Run away separately!” he roared. Then, he rushed in the direction of the nearby forest and disappeared.

Feng Li and others also rushed behind Shi Mu. But, they had heard Shi Mu’s words. So, they escaped in different directions.

Shi Mu had waved his hands before he had disappeared into the woods. A silver dagger had come out of his hand, and had went spinning towards the green-skinned barbarian who lay near the wall of the cave’s entrance.

“Careful, Young Master!”

Suddenly, a figure of a swarthy barbarian flashed. He placed his body in front of the green-skinned barbarian, and stabbed the silver blade with a huge cross-shaped spear in his hand.

A loud rumbling sound was heard.

Several superficial charm characters flashed as the silver blade struck the cross-shaped spear. It was followed by an explosion. Raging flames started to appear and spread in the surroundings.

The swarthy barbarian was flabbergasted. He shot a glance at the green-skinned barbarian’s body that lay behind him. He clenched his teeth fiercely, but he didn’t move aside. His giant body stood motionless in front of the green-skinned barbarian.

The severe explosion eventually subsided. The green-skinned barbarian’s body jolted owing to the explosions. He then regained his consciousness.

“Young Master, are you alright…” the swarthy man forced a smile on his face. Suddenly, his body collapsed in front of the green-skinned barbarian.

“Uncle Tie!” The green-skinned barbarian was startled. He quickly reached out to hold the swarthy man’s hand. Suddenly, his body jolted and his face turned deathly pale.

The green-skinned man saw that the swarthy man’s back was badly mangled and mutilated. There were black marks of burns on his skin. His skin had been burned so deep that his shattered bones and internal organs were clearly visible.

There was a several feet big hole behind the swarthy man. Thick smoke was billowing from inside the hole. The stone had been burnt black.

The green-skinned man couldn’t understand what had happened. His eyes became blood-red.

“That human did it, didn’t he? Uncle Tie, just wait. I’m going to kill this man and avenge you.” The green-skinned man’s arms shivered. He clenched his teeth as he spoke.

The swarthy man had been severely injured. He could only be saved if a high-level warlock used a special method to restore him. Otherwise, he couldn’t be saved.

The green-skinned man put the swarthy man on the ground. Suddenly, a faint-red light appeared around his body. Then, fine scales started to emerge on the exposed skin of his hands and feet.

The pupils of his eyes reflected two bloodthirsty red light rays. The corner of his mouth widened. He took out his long and slender red tongue, and swung it flexibly in the air for a while.

“Young Master, no…” the swarthy man wanted to say something. However, he couldn’t speak. But, the green-skinned man wasn’t willing to hear anything. He pounced and started to walk in the direction in which Shi Mu had fled.

He was advancing extremely fast; so much so that his movement looked like a single red line. He faded away into the distant place in a blink of an eye.

The swarthy man looked around. He wanted to shout as he saw the green-skinned barbarian walk away. But, he was bleeding profusely. The departing figure of the green-skinned barbarian slowly faded away from his eyes.

*** ***

Shi Mu had continued to run for a while. He had covered a distance of around fifteen kilometers from the stronghold. He then came to a stop.

He felt that he was finally safe.

He let out a soft sigh, and looked back in the direction of the stronghold.

He looked at the sky over the stronghold, and saw a group of dark clouds and green light rays were colliding with each other. And, their combined glare was erupting together.

He could hear their noises even from a distance of fifteen kilometers.

A glimmer of longing flashed in Shi Mu’s eyes as he looked at two Heavenly figures hovering in the sky.

They were so powerful that they could soar above the Ninth Heaven. They had mastered the tyrannical power. The earth quaked, the mountains shook and the seas split with each of their movement.

Shi Mu continued to gaze for a while. Then, he gathered his thoughts, and decided to walk on. He had realized that the place wasn’t safe.

Suddenly, he heard a sharp noise from behind him. A green ray of light became visible with the noise. The speed of the light increased to a terrifying level. Suddenly, it arrived before Shi Mu’s eyes.

Shi Mu bent his body, and pounced towards the edge of the jungle.

A green ray brushed past his body. However, the boom sound didn’t enter the jungle. Instead, it disappeared somewhere in between.

Shi Mu’s complexion seemed dignified. He crawled behind a clump of bushes. The aura of his body had fallen to the lowest level; he was breathing faintly.

He knew who this man was.

The middle-level magic tools, the long white bone bow and the charm arrows could endure the high-level magic tools if they were used together.

Shi Mu had been afraid of the green-skinned man earlier. He had then used the Moonlight Sea Urchin. However, he had failed.

He heard a rustle of footsteps behind him. The green-skinned man had come out slowly.

The red light emitting out of the man’s body had reached an extremely bright level by this time. It had almost formed a red cover around his body.

Shi Mu was hiding in the jungle. He was shocked as he saw this.

“Human, there’s no use of hiding. You dared to kill my uncle Tie. Come out and be ready to die.” A deep-rooted hatred appeared in the green-skinned barbarian’s eyes. He looked around. Then, he looked in the direction where Shi Mu was hiding.

An evil grin flashed at the corner of the green-skinned man’s mouth. He moved his arms, and bent the bow to place an arrow. The tip of the arrow was glowing in a green light; it was aimed in Shi Mu’s direction.

Shi Mu rolled over and dodged the arrow. However, he couldn’t escape it completely.

Suddenly, a blood-red light appeared.

Shi Mu’s left arm was pierced by the light. And, he started to bleed. However, the injury couldn’t reach to his bone.

Shi Mu issued a stuffy groan. A great ominous glint was set-off in his eyes.

It wasn’t clear what method the green-skinned man had used. But, it was clear that this method was capable of identifying the other person’s location. So, it was useless to hide.

A buzzing sound was heard as Shi Mu activated his Qi. He shook-off the grass and the crunches of branches from his body. His strength was so fierce that it seemed to have caused a hurricane in forest.

He then leapt towards the green-skinned man.