The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu observed this golden crystal grain, and immiadeitely realized something. He noticed that the silvery-white crystal grain – that he had condensed with the help of the Moon-Swallowing Art – was almost similar to this golden grain.

An idea flashed across his mind, and he released a wisp of his Real Qi. That Real Qi entered his mind and touched the golden grain.

Ka-cha!

The golden crystal broke apart, and turned into a golden sun-shadow.

The golden sun-shadow suddenly flashed in his mind. Then, a portion of it crumbled and changed into a wisp of pure Real Qi. It then passed through his meridians, and integrated into his lower abdomen.

Shi Mu sensed that the Real Qi in his lower abdomen’s Qi Palace had begun to rise at an astonishing speed. This feeling filled his heart with an ecstatic sensation.

The golden sun-shadow gradually vanished and transformed into the purest form of Real Qi after a few breaths.

Shi Mu’s Real Qi had escalated tremendously to such an extent that it had reached the peak of the Xian Tian primary stage. In fact, he was only a step away from the Xian Tian middle stage now.

Shi Mu opened his eyes after a long time.

However, his eyes didn’t reveal the slightest hint of happiness. Instead, Shi Mu lowered his head… as if he was pondering something.

“It seems that I have to go to the summit of the mountain peak for practicing the Sun-Swallowing Art in the future.” Shi Mu considered about it for some time. Then, he arrived at a conclusion.

A burst of wings-flapping sound was heard at this moment. It was followed by Cai’s silhouette that flew over from below, and landed on Shi Mu’s shoulder.

“Shi Tou, the duration of your today’s practice was a lot longer than usual.”

Shi Mu replied with a groaning sound, but he still looked somewhat preoccupied with his thoughts.

“What are you thinking about?” Cai looked at him in a strange manner and asked.

Shi Mu threw a glance at Cai. Then, he stood up without speaking anything.

The fact was that Shi Mu was still pondering over the matters related to his dreamland.

The matter of entering the dreamland had always loomed over his mind ever since he had started to practice.

And, Shi Mu had become more and more skeptical with the increase in his cultivation. He had also realized that the white ape’s dream was by no means a coincidence. In fact, he felt that the strange dreamland should have some connection with him.

He had continually attempted to find clues since the frequency of his dreams had been increasing with the passage of time at first.

He had also felt that some behaviors in his real life had the potential to trigger these dreams of the white ape.

Moreover, the Sun-Swallowing Art also fell in the same category as the Moon-Swallowing Art.

Shi Mu didn’t know the concrete details and tricks of these two strange cultivation arts so far.

However, he would imitate the white ape’s actions whenever he’d slip into his dream. The fact was that he could easily enter the dreamland and condense a crystal grain if he sat in meditation facing the moon nowadays.

Similarly, he could also sit in mediation towards the scorching sun and trigger the dream of the white ape practicing the Sun-Swallowing Art. This would play a substantial role in enhancing his Real Qi to an incredible extent.

He remembered that he had once incarnated into the white ape when he was in the Portal of Brave Warriors — the secret place of the Barbarian race. Also, he had slaughtered the three-headed ominous python in the place in the incarnated form. A similar scene had again popped in his mind where the white ape had gone through a fierce battle with the nine-headed golden flood dragon in the sea.

Shi Mu raised his head with a flash of understanding since a strange conjecture had sprouted in his mind.

Was it possible that the scenes in his dream were the fragments of the white ape’s memory?

Shi Mu bowed his head to ponder over this matter. However, his eyes were gazing far into the distance.

But then, why would he have these memories? Also, why was he often incarnated into the white ape? And, what could be the reason for the repetitive appearance of the white ape’s shadow in his sea of consciousness?

Countless conjectures and thoughts tumbled in his mind. They were surging up and down in an uncertain manner like a surging tide.

Shi Mu had always been calm and composed. And, he was also gifted with extraordinary intelligence. However, he couldn’t achieve anything concrete in this instance despite racking his brain to solve this mystery.

“Forget about it…” He shook his head and cast these thoughts off his mind.

It didn’t matter whether those dreams were some kind of memory or not. But, one point was certain — these dreams could make him stronger as long as he continued to comply with them.

Suddenly, an idea sprang to Shi Mu’s mind, and made him recall one the previous dreams of the white ape. The ape was hovering in the air in that particular dream. Shi Mu also recalled that there was a lofty mountain peak in that dream.

He thought something and turned his hand to take out an old map. He had purchased this map of the Western Continent before the beginning of that auction.

His eyes fell on the marking of the ‘Rising to the Heaven Peak’ on the map. This mountain peak bore a great resemblance to that lofty mountain peak in his dream.

Perhaps…

Cai was yawning out of boredom at the moment. But then, he saw that Shi Mu had taken out a map. So, he also moved closer to have a look at it.

“Hey, isn’t this the same map you had bought before the auction?” Cai asked while crooking his neck.

Shi Mu nodded. But, his eyes were still fixated on the map.

“Western Continent? Shi Tou, don’t tell me that you are planning to go to the Western Continent?” Cai saw the marking at the corner of the map, and asked.

Shi Mu remained silent for a moment. Then, a resolute look surfaced in his eyes, and he slowly said, “That’s right. I’m thinking about the same. The Eastern Continent has become an unsafe place for me. So, I might as well go to the Western Continent and wander around the world.”

Shi Mu’s disposition looked unrestrained and unyielding. After all, travelling around the world at his own will was a desire hidden deep in his heart.

He had plenty of things to worry about in ordinary days. But, the present situation had rather enabled him to give up everything, and follow his heart’s desires instead.

Moreover, there was an indistinct idea rolling in his mind. He felt that he must go to the ‘Rising to the Heaven Mountain’ once he had reached the Western Continent.

Shi Mu might be able to find some clues about his dreams of the white ape if he were to go there.

“Wander around the continent… I would love to do that! Let’s go to the Western Continent!” Cai looked at Shi Mu with an expressionless face. Then, he burst out squawking while fluttering his wings.

Shi Mu thought of something, and drew out the map of the Eastern Continent.

He would have to travel across the Yellow Sea if he wanted to go to the Western Continent.

The ancient Xixia country was located in the western side of the Eastern Continent. Therefore, Shi Mu must pass through this country in order to reach the western coastal region of the Eastern continent.

Moreover, the Dark Moon Cult was also located in the ancient Xixia country. So, this route would also enable him to learn about the Cult that had made him an outcast who couldn’t lead a tranquil life.

“But, we need to make some preparations before we set out,” Shi Mu suddenly opened his mouth and said.

“Oh, what kind of preparations?” Cai asked in a curious manner.

…

Shi Mu and Cai walked out of this mountain range almost an hour later. Shi Mu stood on a high ground and looked toward the West.

A cloth was wrapped around Shi Mu’s face in order to cover-up his real appearance. Moreover, Cai’s originally beautiful and bright feathers had turned black in color.

Cai was a very beautiful and colorful parrot in reality. But, he looked like a stupid and plump crow now.

“Shi Tou, the black phoenix flower juice can wash this off?” Cai looked at the black feathers on his body and asked in a somewhat restless manner.

“Don’t worry, it can wash this off,” Shi Mu replied.

“But, this looks very ugly…” Cai grumbled.

“My identity has already been exposed. And, you are the only colorful-feathered parrot that has been reckoned by many people. So, I’m afraid that we will soon be recognized if we don’t use some camouflages. Then, you would also be grabbed and skinned to make a bowl of bird soup. Do you want that?” Shi Mu said.

“All right,” Cai replied in a somewhat dispirited manner.

“Let’s go,” Shi Mu no longer paid attention to Cai. He took a step and advanced towards the west.

…

Three months later.

Late at night…

The silver moon looked like a hook in the sky. And, its bright radiance looked like water that seemed to have covered the entire earth with a layer of hazy and mysterious silver yarn.

There was a levelled ground amid a cluster of rocks on top of a grey-colored bare mountain peak. This ground was several feet in size.

Shi Mu had taken a strange posture on this ground. His hands were raised upwards at the moment.

The magic power in his body was surging in an endless manner. Then, a tiny wisp of his magic power rushed forth into his mind at this moment.

A longan fruit-sized silvery-white moonlight crystal grain was floating in his mind. In addition, a bright golden light was also floating there, and it was also similar in size.

The tiny wisp of magic power went straight into the moonlight crystal grain.

Bang!

The moonlight crystal grain ruptured and changed into a white full moon.

At the same time, a luminous full moon’s shadow flashed behind Shi Mu’s head for a fleeting second.

Then, the silver radiance flashed on the surface of the full moon in his mind. Then, a portion of the moon crumbled and turned into a wisp of pure magic power. Then, it flowed to his lower abdomen through his meridians and submerged in the whirlpool of magic power there.

The magic power in his body rose tremendously…

The full moon in his mind disappeared after some time. Shi Mu was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had broken through the bottleneck of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power’s eleventh stage. So, he had stepped into the twelfth stage’s boundary.

Another star had illuminated amid the mass of rolling clouds in the sea of consciousness.

The fact was that Shi Mu had finally advanced to the two-Star magician realm!

Shi Mu opened his eyes, and a trace of happiness flashed across his eyes.

Shi Mu noticed that he had been able to condense a longan fruit-sized moonlight crystal grain in less than a month. And, this could become possible ever since the white ape in his dreams had ascended to the consummate stage of the Moon-Swallowing Art.

He had condensed a longan fruit-sized moonlight crystal grain five times in a row these past few months. So, his magic power had progressed by leaps and bounds. But, he had been still stuck to the eleventh stage of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power. However, he had finally broken through the bottleneck of the eleventh stage of this art today after refining the sixth moonlight crystal grain.

Shi Mu swayed in the tide of such thoughts for a while. After that, he stopped the process of the Moon-Swallowing Art and stood in place. Then, he opened his mouth and spouted a beam of golden light.

He then pointed his hand to cast a sword art, and the golden light beam immediately transformed into a golden sword that was almost the size of a door.

The golden-colored flame was flaring on the surface of the sword along with billowing heat waves. The sword was exuding formidable magic power waves that were proliferating in the air.

Shi Mu looked at the golden sword that was suspended above his head, and his eyes flashed with a hint of excitement.

He pointed his right hand, and the golden sword started to hover around him like the most loyal bodyguard.

The golden sword hacked at a nearby seventy-or-eighty-feet high grey boulder the next moment – like a bolt of golden lightning.

“Bang!” a loud rumbling sound was heard.

The grey boulder was hacked into countless fragments amidst the mass of blazing fire. All the gravels that appeared in the way of golden sword were set afire by the golden flame. And, they turned into nothingness almost immediately.

Shi Mu nodded in satisfaction. Then, he flicked his right hand and the golden sword flew back. The golden flame also extinguished the next moment.

The sword then changed into a dark sword with a string of copper coins embedded into its body, and fell into his hand. A golden radiance flashed on the sword’s surface, and then the sword disappeared.

A miniature of golden sword appeared in Shi Mu’s lower abdomen the next moment. Moreover, two whirlpools were rotating below it in an endless manner– one was the whirlpool of magic power, and the other was the whirlpool of Real Qi. These two whirlpools were rotating in opposite directions.

The golden sword had finally started to accumulate spiritual strength after months of breeding in the warm temperature. But, the might it could display was still relatively limited. In fact, it could launch only one attack at a time. However, its current ability was sufficient to resist an attack made by a Xian Tian primary stage warrior.

Shi Mu swept his gaze towards a dozen or more boulders not far from him. They seemed to constitute a small rock forest. He then walked in the direction of those boulders.

He arrived and stopped in front of that rock forest after some time.

Suddenly, a star light flashed behind Shi Mu’s head, and two shadows of star appeared.

After that, Shi Mu pointed his right hand, and a red light flashed. Then, a fireball emerged out of thin air. And, it darted towards a huge and square rock.

“Boom!” a loud exploding sound was heard.

The huge rock exploded into pieces with a flash of red light on its surface. Layers of gravels dispersed in all directions while producing a sharp crackling sound… it seemed as if a torrential rain of gravel was pouring down.

Shi Mu nodded with satisfaction.

He had comprehended the essence of this fireball technique from the “The Fundamental Book on Fire” during the journey. He had purchased this book before the auction had started.

The fireball technique was only a primary-level magic technique. Therefore, Shi Mu didn’t have to cast any magic spell because of the present strength of his spirit sense. It was rightly said – the stronger the spirit sense, the deeper the magic power. Therefore, it could be said that the caster could simultaneously shoot multiple fireballs with the increase in their spirit sense’s strength.

The might of the fireball was depended on the caster’s fire-attribute induction force. And, Shi Mu had already attained five degrees in the fire-attribute induction force. So, each fireball shot by him was almost equivalent to a Hou Tian consummate stage warrior’s attack.

Shi Mu’s Qi Explosion Technique’s might was still comparatively at the lower side. But, its speed was extremely fast. So, it could be said that each technique had its own specialty.