The Portal of Wonderland
chapter-257

Half a day later… Zhong Xiu was in a guest house somewhere in the city.

She packed her luggage in a small cloth bag. After that, she fished out a red spirit stone and kept it close to her body after a momentary consideration. Then, she carried the small cloth bag on her back, and walked towards the exit.

A middle-aged man stood in the small courtyard of this guest house. He was dressed in the green robe of the Wonderful Sound Sect. He also commanded the strength of the Xian Tian realm. But, his face was smeared with an anxious look at the moment. He hurried forward to meet Zhong Xiu when he saw her walking out.

"Sister, why did you suddenly renounce the rank for the Ascension to Immortality? Such opportunity shows up once in a blue moon, ah!" the green-robed middle-aged man said.

"Senior Brother, what's done is done. So, talking about this topic won't fetch any result now," Zhong Xiu flashed a faint smile as she replied.

The middle-aged man was about to speak a couple of things in justification when a person's silhouette suddenly flashed. Then, another middle-aged man entered the guest house.

This person was clad in a yellow robe. His facial features looked quite experienced and matured. The sleeve of his left arm was empty… as if his arm had been cut off.

This person was the same Earth-ranked bodyguard who had accompanied Princess Yue Ni to the auction that day.

Zhong Xiu and the green-robed middle-aged were startled to see him there. The fact was that these two people didn't even notice that someone had arrived this close to them despite having such a profound cultivation.

"May I venture to ask the identity of Your Excellency?" Zhong Xiu asked.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I assure you that there's no evil intention behind my arrival," the one-armed middle-aged man revealed a generous smile as he replied.

"You are Miss Zhong Xiu, right? I'm a high-ranked Elder in Lu Shan Kingdom. My name is Fei Qing. I'm indebted to Miss Zhong Xiu since she has renounced her rank and provided Princess Yue Ni with such a precious chance. I have come here to express my gratitude to Miss Zhong Xiu on the orders of the Lu Shan Kingdom's Emperor," the one-armed middle-aged man explained. Then, he took out a gift box from his clothes, and handed it over to her.

Zhong Xiu's beautiful eyes flashed… it seemed as if she wasn't taken by surprise by these words. She instead stretched out her hand, and received it.

"Princess Yue Ni's cultivation is very profound. Her innate talents are also worth praising. So, her selection in the Ascension to Immortality Ceremony was only a matter of course. Also, I would request Your Excellency to pass my gratitude to Princess Yue Ni," Zhong Xiu spoke-up.

The one-armed middle-aged man nodded. He didn't stay there any further. He turned around and walked away.

Zhong Xiu opened the box, and saw a silver-grey ring inside.

"A storage ring!" The green-robed middle-aged man was astonished.

However, Zhong Xiu's facial expression looked tranquil as she picked up the ring with her two white-onion-like fingers. Then, she poured a drop of her blood to make the ring recognize its owner. After that, she injected her spirit sense into the ring to explore it.

There was an abundance of practice resources in the ring… such as - pills, spirit stones, magic tools, and other stuff.

She remained silent for a moment. Then, she took off the ring and cut off her blood connection with the ring.

"Senior Brother, there's a huge pile of practice resources in the ring. I would trouble you to take this ring to my master." Zhong Xiu passed the ring to the middle-aged green-robed man.

"Sister, are you telling me that you won't return to our Sect with me?" The green-robed middle-aged man received the ring subconsciously. But, he was left startled as he heard her words.

"Your little sister has some important matters that she needs to address. So, I can't return to the Sect for the time being. But, I would like to trouble Senior Brother to pass this to my master on my behalf. Also, please don't let her worry about me. I'll return someday," Zhong Xiu replied.

The middle-aged man looked at her facial expression. Then, his mouth slightly opened… it seemed as if he wanted to persuade her. However, he couldn't speak a single word in the end.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Brother," Zhong Xiu bid farewell to the middle-aged man in a courteous manner. Then, she moved and walked toward the door.

...

Almost at the same time… in the northern part of the Great Qin Kingdom.

This was the extreme north of the Eastern continent. The big flakes of snow were fluttering in the sky in an endless manner – like goose feathers. They were also accompanied by intermittent gusts of cold waves. The whole area appeared like a boundless white world, and stretched as far as the eye could see.

An enormous mountain range could be seen here. It seemed that it had been standing here from ancient times. This mountain looked like a giant ancient monster that was reclined in the strong wind and snow storm.

This huge mountain range was the famous Blackwater Mountains of the Great Qin Kingdom. In addition, a huge and boundless black river could also be seen flowing under these mountains.

However, the black river didn't show the slightest sign of freezing even though this place was extremely cold. It seemed that the name of this mountain range must've been derived from this black river.

The place from where the black river flowed into the mountain ranges was a vast-stretched flat land. This flat land was home to countless huge buildings that rose steeply from its leveled ground.

One of the most gigantic one of them was a majestic tower that stood tall and erect. In fact, it seemed as if it was piercing the sky. The tower was thousands of feet in height. It wasn't inferior to the surrounding sky-soaring great peaks in any respect. This majestic tower stood aloft like a giant monster in the midst of sharp knives-like wind and blizzard-like snowstorm. The panoramic view of this place made it looked like a land of snow and ice that had existed here for thousands of years.

The peak of this lofty tower was emitting a dazzling red light… it seemed as if the sun had been suspended on the top of the tower.

This lofty tower and several surrounding buildings below were brightly illuminated by this light. Countless people could be indistinctly seen crossing the river.

This place was the Main Altar of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Thousands of people had gathered in a huge palace here at the moment.

Also, a huge sacrificial altar could be seen in the centre of the main hall. A blazing black flame was ignited on the top of this altar. The statue of a black man stood erect in the centre of this sacrificial altar. The statue had a black face, and a demon-like horn. It held a trident in its hand. In short, the appearance of the statue looked very ferocious.

Moreover, six people's silhouettes stood side-by-side before this statue.

The Demon Yang Ceremony of the Heavenly Demon Sect had finally put forth the six most talented people's names after going through a series of intense competitions.

This group of the selected six people comprised four men and two women. They all looked young. Also, they had an imposing appearance and an exceptionally graceful bearing.

A few of them stood with their hands crossed behind the back. They were watching the people around the stage in a calm and confident manner.

The person who stood on the leftmost side of this group appeared considerably young. He was dressed in a grey robe, and had exquisite facial features. He seemed to be seventeen-or-eighteen years old at the most.

Shi Mu would've recognized this person if he had been here. This person was Feng Li from Feng City. It was strange to see that Feng Li had arrived in the Heavenly Demon Sect, and had taken part in the Demon Yang Ceremony.

Unfortunately, Shi Mu couldn't rush over to participate in this ceremony due to various reasons and a freak combination of factors. Otherwise, he would've been greatly surprised.

Feng Li was looking in front in a focused manner at this time.

"Brother Feng, who could have thought that Gan prefecture's Yin Demon Sect would be blessed with such a talented person like Your Excellency. This is genuinely awe-inspiring," a bald young man spoke-up. He stood beside Feng Li.

"Brother Zong is over-praising me. My strength doesn't stand any chance against Brother Zong. After all, you are one of the disciples of the Main Sect. It was merely a fluke," Feng Li said.

The bald young man smiled. It seemed as if he was quite satisfied with Feng Li's answer. He then turned his head and didn't say anything further.

A black-robed middle-aged man walked over in a slow manner at this moment.

This man seemed to be only thirty year old. He had sharp sword-like eyebrows that were slanted to his temples. Short and black whiskers were growing above his mouth. These features made him appear very refined.

The refined appearance of this man made him look like a profound scholar. He was the Head of the Great Qin Kingdom's Heavenly Demon Sect— Prior Hao.

A few black-robed people stood in a certain corner below the sacrificial altar. They were watching the six people on the altar.

These people were Black Demon Sect's Jin Xiao Chai and other two team members.

There was very faint aura around Mo Ning's body at the moment. He had advanced to the Xian Tian primary stage by now. An envious look crawled across his face as he watched the six people on the altar.

Bai Shui Xiu stood next to him. But, she was still in the realm of the Spirit-ranked magician. So, her facial expression looked relatively calm.

The Demon Yang Ceremony hadn't declared the desirable limitation of the participant's cultivation. Instead, they seemed to have given more consideration to the age and qualifications of the participants. And, the final selection was made based on the comprehensive ranking that was obtained with the help of a certain conversion rule.

Mo Ning and Bai Shui Xiu had eventually failed to enter the selection list. In fact, they couldn't even make their place in the top thirty.

Mo Ning stole a glimpse of Jin Xiao Chai. She had been the only one in their team who had a high prospect of victory. But, Jin Xiao Chai encountered a formidable enemy in the final round of the competition, and was eventually defeated. Consequently, she also missed the top-six rank by a hair's breadth. She had made it to the top-ten ranking list nonetheless. However, her disparity with the top-six rank holders couldn't be underestimated.

However, Jin Xiao Chai's facial expressions made it seem as if she didn't care about it in the least.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Demon Yang Ceremony has passed through a string of competitions over these last few days. So, it will record its completion by the end of today. It has also succeeded in selecting six talented people after an intense competition," Prior Hao announced with a smile.

"There are many who haven't been selected… However, we also have a big reward for the top-ten rank-holders. They can go and collect it from the Main Management Hall later," Prior Hao continued after a brief pause.

Jin Xiao Chai cast a glance at Feng Li as he stood on the altar, and her lips slightly curled. The fact was that she had been defeated by this person…

"The Demon Yang Ceremony has harvested a great result this time. Our Demon Sects are the loyal adherents of the Demon God. So, our power shall continue to flourish… "

Prior Hao's voice lingered in the main hall for some time. The surrounding people were listening to his words with rapt attention. But, Jin Xiao Chai looked a bit distracted.

She turned her hand and took out a jade token. Then, she rubbed it a bit in a gentle manner.

A ray of light flashed on the surface of the token. Then, a figure emerged… this was Shi Mu's image. Moreover, a few lines were mentioned beside his image in small characters.

"Damn it! This boy seems to have stirred-up some problem in the Heavenly Yu City. And, the problem seems very serious since an arrest order has been issued for him along with the other evil members of the Dark Moon Evil Cult..." Jin Xiao Chai cursed him in her heart.

Prior Hao's speech had already finished by now.

"The ceremony hereby finally ends. You can leave and take a good rest now," Prior Hao announced.

The people who were present in the hall started to leave as they heard his words.

Soon, only the seven people who had been on the sacrificial altar were left in the entire hall.

"You people follow me," Prior Hao said to the six people. Then, he walked towards the depth of the hall.

The group stopped in front of a black door after some time. A horizontal board hung above that door. It was inscribed with four large blood-red-colored words - 'Heavenly Demon Palace Hall'.

These four blood-red-colored words looked quite ordinary. Even the font had nothing special that could attract a person's attention. In fact, they looked very clumsy, and were devoid of any hints of creativity. However, these words were radiating a special kind of aura.

Feng Li and the other five finalists' bodies received a jolt as they looked at these words. Then, they started to breathe more quickly.

"Well, you are the winners of the Demon Yang Ceremony. So, each person will receive a Demon Yang Pill according to the convention…" Prior Hao waved his hand, and six black boxes flew out of his hands toward those six people.

The six people extended their hands to catch the boxes.

"The Demon Yang Pill has a special characteristic. So, you must keep your Qi stable and continue to refine for forty-nine days in a careful manner. You must not forget this thing. You people will be closed in this Heavenly Demon Palace Hall for seclusion practice starting from today. This palace hall had been set-up by the Heavenly Demon's predecessors. This Hall will help you forge ahead with your cultivation. Soon, you would soar to serve our Demon God." Prior Hao said.

The six people exchanged looks with each other. Then, they replied in the affirmative.

…

Somewhere in the Heavenly Demon Sect… Inside a building's small courtyard…

"Sister Jin, do you want to leave?" Mo Ning asked as he noticed that Jin Xiao Chai had already packed her stuff.

"Yes. You two will receive my reward on behalf of me. After that, you must return to the Sect as soon as possible," Jin Xiao Chai took out a black cloak, and draped it around her plentiful body.

"Where does Sister Jin wish to go? What would we report to our Sect's Head?" Mo Ning asked.

"I want to travel around the world for some time. I'll return to our Sect when the time comes. You can convey this message to the Head of the Sect if you wish to," Jin Xiao Chai replied. Then, she no longer paid attention to these two people. She moved and walked toward the exit.

Mo Ning and Bai Shui looked at each other in blank dismay.

Jin Xiao Chai stood near the Blackwater Mountain ranges half-an-hour later. Snow was swirling in the air above the highland. She looked at the boundless snowfall in the front, and remained silent for some time… It seemed as if she was in deep contemplation.

Some time passed like this. She then jumped down the highland, and disappeared into the heavy winds of the snowstorm.