The Portal of Wonderland

The second day…

Shi Mu sat cross-legged on the stone bed in a certain room of the inn. His brows were slightly wrinkled, and there was a thoughtful expression on his face.

He had encountered a bottleneck in the practice of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power during these days. But, this bottleneck wasn’t the same as the bottlenecks of other cultivation arts. It wasn’t that this Art was too difficult to practice. However, its practicing speed was awfully slow as described in the ancient book.

It was reasonable to say that Shi Mu’s spatial-attribute induction ability wasn’t low. After all, he had obtained five-degrees in it. However, he estimated that it would be impossible for him to mark an achievement without spending dozens of years of his precious time in practicing.

He might ascend to the rank of Four-Star magician from the Three-Star if he relied on the Moon-Swallowing Art in his dreams. But, it would require several years to achieve that feat.

Shi Mu had mastered the way to trigger his dreamland. But, he hadn’t fully grasped this technique so far. He had once noticed that the growth rate of the silver crystal in his mind was very slow in his awakened state. In fact, it was far inferior to that of the white ape in his dreamland.

He still remembered that day when the white ape had reached the consummate stage of the Moon-Swallowing Art in his dream. It had then absorbed the moonlight essence only for a day. And, the silver crystal had grown to the size of a thumb as a result. But, Shi Mu needed a month of painstaking practice to achieve a similar size.

In other words… Shi Mu’s practicing speed might undergo an astonishing change if he could perfectly grasp the Moon-Swallowing Art.

Shi Mu had also experimented with various methods afterwards… including a change in location, a change in distance from the moon, and so on. But, he had never succeeded in triggering the exact magic technique related to the Moon-Swallowing Art.

Moreover, this problem wasn’t limited to the Moon-Swallowing Art since the Sun-Swallowing Art was going through the same issue.

Therefore, Shi Mu’s practicing speed could increase by leaps and bounds only on one condition… if Yan Luo agreed to extend its support, and continued to provide him a steady flow of that unique green flower which contained a plentiful amount of moonlight essence.

But, the major problem was Yan Luo’s cold and indifferent response to Shi Mu’s summons these days. Therefore, Shi Mu could only wait with patience for Yan Luo to look for him on its own initiative.

Shi Mu could also focus his attention on the Book of Flaming Red Ape’s practice in order to increase his strength… if he were to rule out the magician’s path to enhance his strength for a while.

Shi Mu had already practiced to the peak of the eighth stage of the Book of Flaming Red Ape. And, he had achieved this point with the help of the Sun-Swallowing Art in his dream. The only thing he needed now was a fire-spirit place. After all, that would enable him to consume the Fire-attribute Peach King. And then, he could try to break through the advanced stage bottleneck at one fell swoop by drawing support from the abundance of fire-attribute spirit energy contained in the Peach King.

Shi Mu hadn’t been able to find any suitable Fire-spirit place since he had set foot on the Western Continent. Therefore, he hadn’t consumed the Peach King so far.

Was there a Fire-spirit place in this Peaceful Sun city?

Shi Mu shook his head in a helpless manner. He then stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out.

… …

Three days later.

Shi Mu walked into a family restaurant with Cai. He then sat down on a random seat. Then, a man came over; he appeared to be a waiter of this restaurant.

“Sir, what would you like to order?” the waiter served tea to Shi Mu while he was speaking. After that, he stood to one side with a respectful expression on his face.

Cai didn’t wait for Shi Mu’s reply, and shouted first, “Get a few signature dishes along with some barbecue strings that I saw at the entrance. Don’t forget to bring seventy-or-eighty barbecue strings.”

The waiter saw Cai, and his jaw dropped in astonishment. A few surrounding customers also turned around, and cast surprised glances at them.

Shi Mu flicked Cai’s head a few times in a stern manner as he saw this. Cai covered his head with his wings, and quieted down. But, he revealed a very aggrieved appearance at the same time.

“Get some signature dishes then,” Shi Mu took a sip of the tea.

The waiter was jolted out of his trance by Shi Mu’s words. He then complied repetitively while walking away from their table. However, he then turned his head, and threw a look at Cai.

Shi Mu’s brows creased. He held the cup, and took a sip of the tea again.

It had already been four or five days since the demon beasts had besieged the city. Shi Mu and Cai had made inquiries everywhere in the city in the past few days to find an appropriate fire-spirit place.

It couldn’t be said that the city didn’t have any such place. The fact was that some people had used a great amount of magic power to build a connection with the underground fire reserves. And this had allowed them to build a few fire rooms. These fire rooms were then used for refining tools and pills, and for forging weapons.

However, the control of these fire rooms was in the hands of some powerful forces of the city; like the Fierce Snake Tribe, the Dark Moon Cult, and other influential people. So, it was nearly impossible for Shi Mu to rent a fire room due to his present situation.

Moreover, those fire rooms were primarily built to facilitate refining pills and tools. So, the intensity of the fire-attribute spiritual energy locked-up in these rooms might not be able to meet his present requirements.

“Shi Tou, don’t worry. As they say… everything would be right in the end,” Cai said.

“You can truly see through me,” Shi Mu said while looking at Cai.

“You can try to practice other cultivation arts if you can’t find a fire-spirit place… like the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power and the Art of Breeding Strong Evil Ape,” Cai said.

Shi Mu’s brows twitched upward. He had been so absorbed in finding a fire-spirit place these days that he had almost forgotten to inquire about the blood essence of a demon ape.

According to the store manager that he had previously met… it was relatively difficult to find a suitable blood essence in the eastern region. But, Shi Mu still planned to visit the other shops in the city.

A few barbarians were seated adjacent to Shi Mu. Their indistinct voices surfaced into his ears at this moment.

“Did you hear that? The Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion intends to hold an auction within a few days.”

“Isn’t half-a-year left before the next auction? Has it been scheduled ahead of time?”

“You must know that our city had been besieged by the demon beasts a few days ago. The rumors state that the City Lord has specifically directed to reschedule the auction in order to mobilize the city’s emotions. There is also a rumor that City Lord — You Can — himself intends to sell a lot of good things at the auction. Tsk Tsk, this auction will surely unfurl a lot of good things. So, it is definitely worth seeing.”

“It’s said that the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion is rich and overbearing. So, they are obviously going to display a lot of top-notch things at the auction.”

… …

“The Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion…” Shi Mu’s brows wrinkled into a frown. He then got up, and walked away from his table. But, he left Cai on the table so that Cai could feast himself properly.

A few of these people were startled when they saw Shi Mu walking toward them. And, they immediately shut their mouths.

“Does Your Excellency have some business with us?” one of them stood up and asked; he was a middle-aged man with a pale complexion.

A few people amongst them were weak, and had average cultivations; they were merely Hou Tian martial warriors. In fact, this middle-aged man was the only strong person in this group. He was at the primary stage of the Xian Tian realm, and was seemingly the leader of this group.

Shi Mu had restrained his aura this entire time. But, the imposing aura that could only belong to a Xian Tian middle-stage warrior had begun to lingering around him at this time. And, that was dreadful enough to make these people feel a bit nervous.

“Friends, don’t misunderstand me. I didn’t come here with any evil intention. I just happened to overhear a few conversations of yours. And, I wanted to consult you about the auction that you were talking about. Oh, that’s right… Waiter, please add my friends’ food bill to my account,” Shi Mu’s words were accompanied by a smile. He then stretched out his hand, and beckoned to the waiter who stood not far from them.

These people exchanged glances once when they heard Shi Mu’s words. Then, their facial expression loosened a bit.

“Please have a seat, Your Excellency,” The middle-aged man sat down, and pointed his finger at the chair beside Shi Mu.

Shi Mu expressed his thanks, and sat down. He then shared his name, but it was obviously a false name.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dear Friend Mu. Can you possibly be desirous of participating in this auction?” the middle-aged man asked.

“That’s right. This Mu is looking for the blood essence of a high-ranked demon ape or demon monkey. Does my friend know whether this auction will have this thing or not?” Shi Mu asked.

“How can this trivial man know about such a matter? My noble friend may go to the Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion in order to inquire about this matter,” the middle-aged man said with a wry smile.

“I just listened to your conversation. Is this Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion very powerful?” Shi Mu remained silent for a moment. He then asked again.

“Dear Friend Mu doesn’t even know about the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion’s auction house?” The other people exposed a surprised look.

“This is my first visit to the Peaceful Sun City. I had always been in small places before arriving here. Therefore, my shallow knowledge has made you people laugh at me,” Shi Mu said.

“Come on, it’s not like that,” These people smiled apologetically.

“Perhaps Friend Mu’s first visit to our city isn’t a strange matter. Anyway, the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion has opened an auction house in the Peaceful Sun City in the recent years. They hold auctions every year on a regular basis. And, it is regarded as a big event here. But, this auction house is backed by the Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce. Friend Mu must’ve heard about it,” the middle-aged man said.

“The Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce?” Shi Mu was startled. However, he remained calm and composed on the surface, and nodded.

“Oh, that’s right… now you will ask who exactly opened this Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce. But, I’ve seen their branches in several big cities,” a thin barbarian man in the group said.

“Not only this… it is also said that they still have business contacts with the Demon Race. It’s not simple!”

“Right, I’ve also heard about it.”

… …

Shi Mu and the opposite party had a few random discussions in the following time. Shi Mu drew some information about the position of the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion through the discussions. He subsequently took his leave, and hurried outside the restaurant.

He hadn’t imagined that Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce’s influence range could be so mighty that it even had a place of business in the Western Continent.

Cai had already eaten and drunk to his heart content. The only thing he needed right now was a proper rest. But then, his eyes fell on Shi Mu who had already reached the entrance of the restaurant, and he rushed to follow him.

“Shi Tou, why are you in hurry? I have just finished eating. You should at least allow me to digest my food,” Cai landed on Shi Mu’s shoulder, and released a contented burp.

But, Shi Mu didn’t pay attention to him. He walked straight in the direction of the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion.

He came to a street within half-an-hour; this street couldn’t be regarded as bustling. There was an ordinary garret in front of him. And, a horizontal board hung on it; it was inscribed with the words “Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion”.

Shi Mu’s eyes flickered. It seemed that the Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce’s work style in the Eastern Continent was different from that in the Western Continent. Its scope of business wasn’t small here. But, it seemed that they preferred to keep a low-profile at this place.

He hadn’t yet entered the shop when a black-robed middle-aged man brushed past him, and walked into the store. There was a hint of anxiousness across his face.

Shi Mu also walked into the shop and looked around. He saw that myriads of rare spirits materials and efficacious pills had been arranged in the cabinets. In addition, a few common magic tools could also be seen in the shop. But, they looked very insignificant and unappealing in comparison to the Eastern Continent’s stock.

The present situation allowed Shi Mu to assume that the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion was unlikely to show its real treasure to people casually.

A man stood in a corner of the counter; he was seemingly the manager of this store. He was talking to a black-robed man in a whispering voice; this black-robed man was the same man that Shi Mu had seen outside the shop a moment ago. But, Shi Mu could still faintly listen to their conversation with the strength of his spirit sense. Their conversation made it seem as if a batch of the Heveanly Wu Gems Pavilion’s goods had encountered a trouble.

“Manager, what should we do now? A shipment was robbed again. This gang doesn’t seem to respect us at all. They certainly want to create trouble for Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce,” the black-robed man whispered.

The manager’s eyes gradually became darker as he said, “How much is the loss?”

“Fortunately, we had Chen Kui transport the goods in batches. So, the loss is permissible. However, it is the third time this has happened in six months.”

“First of all, report this matter. Our latest shipments will be suspended for now. We will wait until the matter is settled.”

…

The black-robed man disappeared from the shop after some time. The Manager had already noticed Shi Mu. So, he came over to him with a smile on his face as soon as he wrapped up the matter at hand.

“How may I address you, Dear Guest? Also, may I ask what my Dear Guest wants to see here?”

Shi Mu threw a glance at the Manager. He then clasped his hands as a sign of respect and said, “I’m Mu Shi. I’ve heard that an auction will be held here soon. So, I came over to see.”

“I wonder if my noble friend can provide a person’s name as reference. I don’t wish to keep Your Excellency in dark. Our auctions only aim at our old customers,” the Manager replied with a smile.

“This is the first time I’ve set foot in your respected store. However, I’ve had some dealings with the Heveanly Wu Chamber of Commerce in the past. I don’t know whether those frequent dealings make me an old customer,” Shi Mu said.