The Portal of Wonderland
chapter-248

Near the Sparkling Gem Pavilion…

The buildings within the range of thousands of feet had turned into ruins.

The ground was filled with streams of blood. Numerous bones were scattered everywhere. In addition, remains of countless humans, zombies, and monsters could be seen everywhere. These things painted a general picture of purgatory.

A white-haired and young-faced old man was baselessly floating in the air over these ruins. He was attired in Blue-Trigrams Taoist-robe.

He was the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult's head — Elder Taoist Wu Chen.

He held a horsetail whisk in his hand. Suddenly, it released many streaks of white lights that dashed and bound a short and silver-haired young man in a firm manner. Three young people also lay beside this young man.

A man whose face was painted red, a woman with a veil on her face, and a merchant-dressed plump man…

All of them were Liu An's fellow apprentices.

The eyes of these three people looked dull since there was no radiance in them. Also, the presence of a living aura was totally lacking around them. However, not even the slightest injury could be seen on their bodies.

Four Blue-Trigrams Taoist-robed people were also present there; three men, and a woman. They stood around Elder Taoist Wu Chen, and seemed to be waiting for something. There was a respectful look on their faces. They could still vaguely hear the bursts of fighting sounds that seemed to be spreading from afar.

One of them had a tall and plump stature. His face looked withered. He didn't seem to be a Taoist priest. Instead, he looked like a high-ranked military officer. The other man had long beard which had three strands. His facial features looked refined, and he had a rather stalwart appearance. The third man had a pure and elegant appearance. He had tall and upright stature. An old sword hung on his back in a slanting position. A few faint traces could be seen on the surface of its sword. The fourth-and-last one of them was a woman. She was a beautiful middle-aged Taoist nun. She held a white-jade horsetail whisk in her hand. And, she bore a solemn expression on her face.

Elder Taoist Wu Chen shook his horsetail whisk, and the short and silver-haired young man flew over and stopped in front of him.

The silver-haired man looked at him, and his eyes filled with a touch of resentment. But, he was seemingly under a kind of restricting-spell since he found himself unable to open his mouth and speak anything.

Elder Taoist Wu Chen stretched out his left hand and his five fingers pressed against the silver-haired man's head like a claw. Then, his hand emitted a burst of white light.

The silver-haired man's face revealed a trace of pain, and his eyes gradually got smeared with a perplexed look.

Elder Taoist Wu Chen retracted his left hand a moment later.

However, the silver-haired man was still tied-up with the horsetail whisk. His arms were drooping alongside his body in a weak manner, and there was sluggish look in his eyes. He was completely motionless… as if he was a dead fish.

The white light in Elder Taoist Wu Chen's hand brightened after some time. Then, his horsetail whisk emitted a huge mass of white flame that engulfed the silvered-haired young man. And, he was burnt to nothingness the next moment.

The horsetail whisk again exuded a huge mass of white flame that fell on the bodies of the other fellow apprentices of Liu An's. And, the three people's bodies got submerged in a similar fashion.

"Master, did you find any useful information?" the tall and plump man asked.

Elder Taoist Wu Chen pondered for a moment. Then, his lips slightly moved.

The surrounding four Taoist people clasped their hands toward the Elder Taoist Wu Chen in obeisance. Then, they flew away into the distance.

...

In a certain inn… somewhere in the Heavenly Yu City.

More than twenty Blue-Trigrams Taoist-dressed Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult's follower rushed into the inn. They seemed to be headed by a tall and plump man.

One of these disciples was leading a strange dog that had six ears and one strangely big nose.

The inn's keeper stepped forward when he saw them. The plump Taoist man asked him a few questions. After that, one of the Cult's disciples rushed to the backyard.

Soon, all Immortal Cult's disciples appeared in one courtyard of the guest house. That strange dog sniffed in the courtyard and the room. Then, it began to bark in a furious manner.

The Taoist man – who had been holding the strange dog – whistled loudly. Then, the dog turned around and dashed outside the inn in a crazy manner. The surrounding Taoist people's face beamed with happiness, and they quickly followed the dog.

...

There was a vast wilderness as far as the eye could see. Green and yellow weeds seemed to be spread on the earth like a carpet.

Small and shallow ponds could be occasionally seen in this wilderness. The beautiful reflection of the white clouds floating in the blue sky could be seen in the ponds' water.

Suddenly, a grey person's silhouette rushed through this wilderness like a predatory cheetah.

This grey-dressed silhouette was none other than Shi Mu. He had just escaped from the Heavenly Yu City. He had been advancing towards the north ever since he left the city. His goal was to reach the Da Qin Nation where the Heavenly Demon Sect was situated.

Suddenly, Shi Mu's heart thumped as the parrot Cai's voice resounded in his mind.

"Shi Tou, it seems like someone is following you."

His voice barely faded when a golden light flashed before Shi Mu's eyes. Then, a picture popped into his mind.

He saw a team of mounted soldiers. And, they were riding sturdy horses. They were the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult's Taoist priests. Shi Mu saw that they were currently passing a pond that Shi Mu had passed a few moments ago. Then, they galloped in the same direction that Shi Mu had been advancing in.

One of the foremost Taoist priests held a strange dog that had a very ugly appearance and six ears.

Shi Mu's heart shivered with apprehension. He pointed his right foot on the ground, and changed the direction.

Half an hour later…

Shi Mu was moving forward at a very high speed, but his complexion had gradually become more solemn.

The fact was that he had changed direction several times in a row during this period. But, it seemed like the team of those Taoist priests had been constantly keeping watch at every action of his'. Moreover, they had continued to adjust the direction accordingly, and had continued to pursue him.

Shi Mu was certain that the opposite party was pursuing him only. And, he had guessed that they had been able to keep a close watch on him because of that strange dog in all probability.

The Real Qi surged inside his body. Then, he gently pointed his foot on the ground and sprang out ten feet forward. His speed had increased by a great margin with the passage of time. In fact, it had even surpassed the speed of a fast horse.

But, the opposite party was apparently riding some rare and high-quality horses. Therefore, Shi Mu basically had no means to cast off the opposite party. On the contrary, he felt that he might end up consuming a huge amount of his Real Qi if he continued to run at a high-speed for such a long time.

Therefore, he stopped after some time. He turned around and looked in the backward direction in a silent manner.

Soon, a group of twenty mounted soldiers of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult galloped over.

The tall and fat blue-robed Taoist man jumped down from the horseback; he seemed to be the leader of this group.

Shi Mu saw that a golden light flashed on that man's body. Then, a human-shaped magic-image emerged behind him. Its whole body was covered with a suit of golden armor, and it held two golden hammers in its hands.

Shi Mu saw this, and the four-headed ominous python's shadow flashed on his chest. Then, a large number of black scales sprouted on the surface of his body and wrapped his whole body like the armor.

Then, the aura around Shi Mu's body also increased exponentially. In fact, he had reached the peak of Xian Tian consummate stage in an instant. After that, a black and the red radiance bubbled-up on his body. They then condensed into two layers of protective shields.

At the same time, he took out two magic charms from his bosom – one was green and the other was golden in color. One of them was the Golden Star Charm which was drawn on the three-headed python's skin. And, the other was the ordinary Body-Lifting Charm. He then crushed them simultaneously.

The golden and the green rays of light gleamed at the same time. After that, a thin layer of green radiance and a thick layer of golden radiance also emerged on the surface of Shi Mu's body.

A small and luminous star also flashed behind Shi Mu's head while he was activating the magic charm. Then, he mumbled something very fast.

The next moment, a pale-white protective-shield emerged in front of his body, and placed itself on the outermost part of the two shields.

Shi Mu had performed these actions in a very smooth and coherent manner. In fact, he hadn't exhibited the slightest of sloppy movements till the very end. It seemed like he had sketched out this strategy in advance.

The golden armored magic-image behind the plump man wielded its big hand, and a golden light darted out. It was the golden hammer that it held in his right hand.

Shi Mu's right hand moved and the black blade appeared in his hand. And, the raging flames flared up on the blade's surface the next moment.

Then, Shi Mu waved his right hand, and a half-moon-shaped red blade-light emerged in midair. Then, it flashed and shot forward to receive the golden light.

Simultaneously, his stature turned fuzzy as he shifted to the side to evade the blow.

Shi Mu's current speed seemed to have reached the extreme point. It was because he had the support of the four-headed python and the Body-Lifting Charm at the same time.

"Bang!" a loud rumbling sound was heard.

The half-moon-shaped fiery blade-light collapsed and dispersed as it came in contact with the golden light. But, the golden light didn't even stop for a second. It dashed towards Shi Mu and arrived close to him almost instantaneously.

Shi Mu twisted his body and the golden light edge swept past his shoulder.

However, the protective shields Shi Mu had formed outside his body were defeated and dispersed by the golden light. However, it couldn't injure Shi Mu since it had only brushed past his scales.

Shi Mu only felt a sudden pain and then it quickly returned to normal. He hadn't received any severe injury apart from some minor cracks on his scales.

Moreover, Shi Mu had already moved fifty or sixty feet away from his original spot.

"Hold on a moment before you begin. Your Excellency is presumably an Elder of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult. Have I misunderstood your identity?" Shi Mu opened his mouth and said.

The tall and plump Taoist man examined Shi Mu a few times. Then, the trace of an unexpected look appeared on his face as he said, "Boy, you rely on many strange things. I can see that you practice both martial and magic arts pretty well. In addition, you are also quite proficient in the Barbarian Race's secret Totem technique. Unfortunately, you have bumped into this man. So, you might as well be obedient and let yourself be captured in a peaceful manner. I might show mercy and leave your corpse intact if you tell me about Liu An's whereabouts. In fact, I may also help your soul find peace."

The plump man walked over as he said this, and stood in the place where Shi Mu had stood a moment ago. Then, an identical golden hammer appeared in the right hand of the golden-armored magic-image that was behind him.

The other disciples of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult also dismounted from their horses and rushed over. They separated into two groups and surrounded Shi Mu from either side.

"It appears that the Elder has misunderstood me. I don't belong to the Dark Moon Cult. I admit that Liu An and I know each other. But, we only know each other a little. Moreover, our meeting was only a coincidence. So, I genuinely don't know anything about his whereabouts." Shi Mu slipped his left hand into his sleeves and grasped a silver-colored magic charm while he was speaking.

"Boy, you are good at eloquence! But, don't forget that you have fallen into this man's hand. This Taoist man naturally had a way to distinguish between true and false!" the plump Taoist man replied.

His voice had barely faded when the golden-armored magic image's arms moved and two golden lights flashed.

Suddenly, a strange thing happened!

A mass of black smoke emerged in the air between these two men.

Then, a person's silhouette walked out from the surging black smoke. Its whole body was covered with a suit of white armor. Its face was hidden behind a mask. It was walking in the air very swiftly even though there was no base. In fact, it seemed as if it was walking on the flat ground.

It emanated a formidable aura that was as profound as a deep sea.

Shi Mu saw that the silhouette walking in midair was Yan Luo in reality. His heart received a severe jolt, and his body immediately shot backwards.

"Boy, you are indeed a member of the Dark Moon Cult!"

The golden-armored magic image's mouth opened and issued a humming sound. Then, two golden lights fled from its hand and darted towards Yan Luo who was still amid the black smoke.

But, a black light flashed on Yan Luo's body and it disappeared from the sight.

The two golden lights passed through the place where Yan Luo had just stood, and went straight into the distance. Then, they exploded like two small golden suns.

The plump man felt something strange, and his heart was suddenly gripped with a sense of bad premonition. He turned around along with the golden-armored magic-image behind him. Simultaneously, two golden hammers again appeared in the magic-image's hands.

He had barely completed this action when a mass of black smoke emerged not far in front of him. And, a bone-spear – that was covered in white flames – was thrust towards him.

The golden-armored magic-image's arms moved and gathered the two golden hammers in the middle. This action smashed the hammers against the bone-spear.

"Bang" a loud sound rang out!

Golden and the white rays of light flashed past. However, the golden hammers changed into crystal light and vanished into thin air. Then, the bone-spear – that was curled-up in the white flames – moved forward and penetrated the golden-armored magic-image's chest with an enormous power.

"Pop" a stuffy sound was heard.

A hole was dug-out in the golden-armor magic-image's chest. But then, its body-armor exuded dazzling golden light that prevented the bone-spear from drilling further. But, its face twisted in agony, and the golden radiance on its body also dimmed a bit.

The plump man seized this opportunity and whirled around. It couldn't be said when a golden sword had appeared in his hand. Moreover, a circle of tiny magic characters were carved on the surface of this sword.

The intense magic-power waves proliferated in all directions like water ripples. Then, fervent and golden-colored fiery waves suddenly erupted from the sword's edge.