The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu heard his name being called and looked up. He was shocked at the familiar faces.

“Ah, it turned out to be sister Ma. I haven’t seen her for a long time.”

The woman was none other than Ma Long.

She looked at Shi Mu with glowing eyes. Her cheeks were slightly red, as if she was blushing.

“Sister Ma, both of you are acquainted?”

Hou Tong looked at Ma Long with a strange expression and a furrowed brow. After some time, he loosened up and laughed.

“Well, I met brother Shi Mu back in the trials,” Ma Long said.

“Haha, it’s much better since everyone knows each other. Brother Shi Mu, how about joining us?” Hou Tong asked laughingly.

“Brother Shi Mu, our team has just been tasked with hunting the Demon Crow King for ten Xuanling points. We still need one more person to fill up the team. Once the task is completed, we’ll divide the reward equally,” Ma Long looked at Shi Mu, eagerly wanting him to join her team.

“Thank you for your offer but I work alone. I prefer completing my tasks on my own. I shall leave now,” Shi Mu slightly arched his hand and turned to walk toward the green stone wall.

Ma Long seemed slightly taken back with Shi Mu’s remarks. Hou Tong was all smiles, but behind the smiling face was a hint of deceit in the depths of his eyes. The others on the team seemed to be trying to figure out what the smile meant but they were certain that it was nothing good.

Although Ma Wei was somewhat disappointed, she did not say much. On the other side, Hou Tong was sulking.

“What an arrogant fool. It’s been less than ten years since he became a disciple of Qinglan. Now wants to take on missions by himself like some hotshot? Disgusting. He’s looking for death!” remarked a young man with a cold face who was standing behind Hou Tong.

His voice was so loud that everyone around them heard and turned their gaze toward Shi Mu.

Shi Mu did not pay attention to the situation around him and continued toward the green stone wall. He took out his Xuanling wall and waved at the stone wall.

A ray of light flew into his Xuanling wall his mission had appeared.

“Hunt down twenty mid-level demon wolves and retrieve their demon pill and horns. The reward will be five Xuanling points. If you are able to kill an additional four or more, extra Xuanling points will be awarded!”

On the other side of the Xuanling wall appeared small characters that recorded where the demon wolves were located, which was in the western part of Qinglan. There were several other characteristics of life stated in the location as well.

After looking at it several times, Shi Mu stored his Xuanling point and walked out of the Convention Pavilion. Upon walking out, he did not even look at Hou Tong and his team who were standing at the side.

Cai, who was perched on Shi Mu’s shoulder, squinted at the group and swayed his backside at them.

“Who is this person? The task of hunting the fire-type demon wolves was only just released a few days ago. The reward is high but it’s dangerous to take on such a mission alone.

“You’re right! The fire-attribute demon wolf is a rare high-order group of beasts. Even the upper disciples are afraid to go alone to the volcanic area near sunset.”

“If I remember correctly, I’ve overheard from Hou Tong that this person is a newcomer in Qinglan. He really isn’t afraid of dying, is he? What an arrogant boy!”

Some of the older disciples nearby pointed at Shi Mu from behind, making sarcastic remarks.

Behind the stone table, a deacon with long eyebrows was alarmed with the situation as well. He looked at Shi Mu’s back but quickly closed his eyes right after.

After seven or eight days, next to the western part of the volcanic region of Qinglan, a figure in a green robe with huge flaming wings flew down. It was none other than Shi Mu.

“What a scene!” shouted Cai, still on Shi Mu’s shoulder.

The volcano before them was shrouded in a grayish red mist. From time to time, lava would spew from the crater, splashing around and rumbling. It was more spectacular than the hundred thousand volcanoes in the Cerulean Sea Star.

“We’re not here to appreciate the scenery. We must hurry and find those demon wolves. I want to get this done as soon as possible.” Shi Mu flew straight down into the volcanic area.

“Shi Mu, leave it all to me. I didn’t lay in my residence for nothing during the past few years. After all that training, my vision is twice as sharp as before!” Cai said confidently.

Shi Mu heard that and his face lit up with delight.

“Then I’ll speed up a bit. The investigation part will be handed over to you,” he said as his body began to glow in bright red and he accelerated forth.

After half a day, in one of the long gorges of the region…

A black ray rose into the sky and within a few tens of miles, the temperature dropped sharply. There was even a layer of hoarfrost on the ground near the gorge, and a little snow fluttered in the air.

The entire canyon was now covered in white ice. The deeper the ice layer, the thicker it was. At the bottom of the canyon, the ice layer appeared a few feet behind the ground. More than a dozen large demon wolves had been frozen by the ice.

These wolves glowed red and there was a distinctive long, curved horn on their foreheads. Their qi was of mid-level as they growled with killing intent.

The demon wolves who were not completely covered by the thick ice tried to break out of the trap, but the ice was harder than expected and they were unable to move at all.

Not far from there, the black light emitting from Shi Mu’s right arm slowly dissipated. With his mouth open up, a golden light flashed and a gold sword flew out that turned into numerous rays shooting at the demon wolves.

The golden sword flashed across and a dozen demon wolves were caught in the attack. Blood oozed out of their wounds.

“Oh my Shi Mu, since when did you become so strong?! That ice attack packs a wallop. What secret technique is this?” Cai asked in awe.

“Oh, this is the second phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, the power of the extreme yin aura.”

“That’s amazing. Wow!”

As they were in the midst of their conversation, Shi Mu flew down to the bottom of the valley toward the demon wolves. He did not waste any time and immediately retrieved the beasts’ horns and demon pills.

This was already the second wave of fire-attribute demon wolves he hunted down. At this point, he had already exceeded the requirements of the task.

He flew toward the other area of the volcanic region to possibly hunt for more.

Although the ice in the canyon was strong, it was quickly swallowed up by the hustle and bustle of the surrounding sky. Under the hot surrounding temperature, the ice layers slowly began to melt away. After half an hour, the canyon returned to its original appearance.

A few days later, Shi Mu reappeared at the Convention Pavilion.

He was in a hurry and his expression looked like he was occupied with thoughts.

“Oh, it’s the newcomer who took on the task of the fire-attribute demon wolves. Didn’t think he’d be back so soon.”

“Hmph, look at his gray face. It must’ve been too hard for him so he came back to exchange for another task.”

“He’s lucky he didn’t lose his life in the volcanic region by becoming food to those fiery wolves.”

The same older disciples who happened to be there earlier in the day talked about Shi My as soon as he entered the pavilion.

Among the crowd, Hou Tong was present as well. He too jeered along with the others, and his voice was the loudest among them. However, Ma Long could not be seen at his side or anywhere in the pavilion.

Shi Mu did not pay attention to them and went straight toward the long stone table in the hall.

“My name is Shi Mu and I’m here to hand in my task,” He said faintly and took out his Xuanling point, placing it on the table.

At the same time, he waved his hand and the table flashed in red light. Suddenly, several demon pills and curved horns appeared on the table.

The deacon behind the stone table was the same old man with long eyebrows. As soon as he caught sight of the demon pills and curved horns on the table, he was utterly shocked. However, he was able to keep his expression concealed before anyone saw.

“This is indeed the demon pill and horn of the fire-attribute demon wolves. There’s a total of twenty-eight pairs so the basic reward would be five Xuanling points. Additional rewards of two points will be given to you as well. In conclusion, seven points to you!”

Those who ridiculed Shi Mu in the hall were stunned. They could not believe their eyes and stood still, too shocked to move.

Hou Tong, like everyone else, was caught off guard. His face went red as if he had just gotten a tight slap on his cheek.

Others began to react to the news and whispered among themselves. At times, they would turn around to catch a glimpse of Shi Mu and whispered, this time without any sarcasm.

Shi Mu shook the long-browed old man’s hand, then turned to face the green stone wall. The surrounding disciples of the Holy Land of Qinglan saw this and opened up a path for him without saying a word.

Cai was perched smugly on Shi Mu’s shoulder.

Shi Mu walked to the stone wall with no expression. He looked at it a few times and flicked his Xuanling wall as a ray of light flew into it, giving him a new task to be complete.

After accepting the task, he did not stop at all. He immediately turned around and walked out of the Convention Pavilion, disappearing from sight.

“This person not only completed the mission of the fire demon pills, but he did more than necessary in less than ten days. If I remember correctly, even the fastest route to the volcano and back takes seven or eight days.”

“When did a newcomer like him turn out to be this powerful?”

“It’s hard to say. Who knows if he was really on his own. Maybe he had some additional help from someone else.”

“Let’s look at what mission he took this time.”

“Eh? It’s the task of picking white ice flowers. That one’s no easy feat since you’d need to head more than 100 feet deep into the ice cave of the Blue Snow Mountain. The environment is unbearable and fraught with ice monsters. I heard that three older disciples failed miserably at this task recently.”

A group of Qinglan disciples began to discuss among themselves.

Hou Tong looked unsure and wanted to talk smack about Shi Mu. Sadly, he was so embarrassed that he could only swallow his words and refrain from speaking further.

Ten days later, a green figure appeared in the Convention Pavilion once again. It was none other than Shi Mu.

By now, the news of him succeeding the task of the demon wolves had spread around among the disciples of Qinglan. Some people already recognized who Shi Mu was and whispered among themselves.

Those who were clueless began to ask around. Upon understanding Shi Mu’s identity, they would try to take a better look at him.

Shi Mu would still ignore the situation around him as usual as he walked toward the long stone table and waved his hand. This time, there were twenty or thirty palm-sized white flowers on the table, giving the room a chilly atmosphere.

“My name is Shi Mu and I’m here to hand in my completed task,” Shi Mu said as he took out his Xuanling wall and passed it to the elder deacon standing behind the stone table.

“Woah!”

There was a burst of exclamation in the hall.