The Portal of Wonderland
chapter-372

"Miss Xiu, what's wrong with you?" An anxious expression appeared on Shi Mu's face. He released a wisp of his pure Real Qi through his palm, and infused it into Zhong Xiu's body.

The reddish color on Zhong Xiu's face started to subside as soon as she received the help of Shi Mu's Real Qi.

"I'm all right." Zhong Xiu barely managed to show a smile. After that, she tried to stand firm.

"How can you be okay? The same thing happened in the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion. There is no way it can be the result of exhaustion if I take your current strength into consideration." Shi Mu said while shaking his head.

"I'm really fine. I've often felt this kind of thing in the recent days. But, I will soon return to normal." Zhong Xiu said.

Shi Mu shook his head, and made her sit down.

"It's not good. I'd better examine you once carefully," he said. Then, he pressed his palm on the top of his head, and exuded a wisp of Real Qi from his body.

At the same time, he also released his spirit sense, and made it seep into Zhong Xiu's body.

He examined her body thoroughly with the help of his Real Qi as well as spirit sense, but he didn't find anything strange. The Qi and blood in her body were moving in a somewhat sluggish manner. But, her condition still seemed rather similar to the condition caused by excessive fatigue.

"How can it be..." Shi Mu mumbled to himself in disbelief.

He shook his head, and again injected a wisp of his spirit sense into her body for a thorough examination. But, he again ended up empty-handed.

Shi Mu knitted his brows tightly, and started to mutter to himself.

"It's not a big issue. I have recently noticed that I feel a little weariness once in a while, that's all. Big Brother Shi, you don't have to worry about it." Zhong Xiu said, but Shi Mu's true concern for her set off a wisp of sweet and pleasant feeling in her heart.

"Is it really okay?" Shi Mu asked.

"It's really okay. Look at me… don't you think I am all right now?" A blue light flashed and started to spread from Zhong Xiu's body as she said; the blue light looked like a lotus flower bloomed on her body. Then, she began the operation of Real Qi in her body without any difficulty.

"Well, promise me that you will have a good sleep as soon as you return. You have been too tired these days." Shi Mu nodded and gave up asking for further details.

"Okay! By the way, why can't I see Cai around?" Zhong Xiu said while sweeping her gaze in the warehouse.

"Cai doesn't like the narrow surroundings of this place. So, he prefers staying outside," Shi Mu said.

"I was about to tell you about Vice President Wang's announcement at that time. He declared me as the special envoy to the demon race. Moreover, he has instructed me to set out on a journey to the Rising to the Heaven Mountain Peak after one month." Zhong Xiu's words were tinged with ecstasy.

"Really? That's wonderful!" Shi Mu heard these words, and revealed a delighted look in response even though he had already expected this news.

Zhong Xiu's heart overwhelmed with happiness when she saw the hint of elation across Shi Mu's face.

"There is still a month in our hands. So, we can our plan travel in a proper way..." Shi Mu said. Simultaneously, he took out a map.

Zhong Xiu was about to walk over when her complexion abruptly changed, and a burst of darkness spread before her eyes. Her body swayed and moved towards the ground.

"Miss Xiu!"

Shi Mu's facial expression profoundly changed as he saw this. He forthwith reached out and carried her in his arms.

But then, his facial expression changed again as his fingers bumped into Zhong Xiu's body. He felt that Zhong Xiu's body was scalding at the moment… as if she were a big stove.

Just then, a scorching heat wave rushed out of her body.

Obviously, a little heat wave couldn't affect Shi Mu since he himself used to practice the Book of Fiery Red Ape… a fire-attribute art.

Shi Mu stimulated the Real Qi in his lower abdomen and a layer of red light burst forth on his body in order to resist this heat wave. After that, he carefully placed her on the ground.

However, Zhong Xiu's consciousness was in a somewhat blurred state at the moment. Also, she was mumbling Shi Mu's name as if she was calling him.

"Miss Xiu, I'm here, you... How do you feel now?" Shi Mu gripped her hand and said.

Zhong Xiu was unconscious. So, she didn't give any response to Shi Mu's words.

Shi Mu took a deep breath and tried to pacify his anxious mood by force. After that, he sent his spirit sense out of his body, and infused it into Zhong Xiu's. Then, he again explored her body and his complexion sank in response.

He found that Zhong Xiu's magic power and Real Qi were in a very turbulent state at the moment. They were constantly scurrying around in her veins – like an uncontrollable small snake.

Fortunately, Zhong Xiu wasn't only a practitioner of both martial and magic art, but she was also a very strong practitioner. This meant that her meridians were very tenacious. So, they were barely able to withstand the turbulent movement of her magic power and Real Qi.

Shi Mu soon found the reason behind this chaotic movement as his spirit sense continued to explore deeply in her body.

The fact was a mass of fervent red light had emerged in Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen out of thin air. And, it was swelling and shrinking in a disorderly manner — like blazing flames.

Moreover, this mass of blazing flames was imposing huge pressure on Zhong Xiu's magic power and Real Qi which were in her lower abdomen. So, they had started to flow in her meridians in a turbulent manner.

"How could this happen? Can it be possible that the practice of some martial arts has gone astray by accident?" Shi Mu had never seen this kind of a situation before. So, he was bewildered to see such a turbulent situation.

Shi Mu still managed to calm his restless mind. But then, a thought streaked across his mind like an electric current. The only thing he knew was he had to save Zhong Xiu regardless of any situation. So, he had to suppress the mass of blazing flames first that had strangely appeared in her lower abdomen.

He mumbled something and waved his hand. Several rays of light shot out from his hand and landed on various places throughout the warehouse.

Then, a few beams of light emerged in the warehouse, and three or four layers of light screens spread across the warehouse.

"Cai, keep a close watch over the surrounding activity, and inform me if you see anyone approaching this place." He contacted Cai through his mind.

Cai was on a building outside the warehouse. He was startled for a moment when he heard Shi Mu's voice. But then, he looked at the warehouse and felt relieved.

He noticed that a few prohibition magic spells were arranged in the warehouse, but they weren't very vivid.

However, the tone of Shi Mu's voice had been very stern. And, this allowed Cai to assume that there ought to be some urgent matter. So, he complied with his order immediately.

Shi Mu sat down beside Zhong Xiu's body with his legs crossed. Then, he pressed his hands under her belly… against her lower abdomen. Then, a layer of red light bubbled up on his body. Simultaneously, the Real Qi in his body started to surge up in a violent manner. Then, it gushed out of his body, and seeped into Zhong Xiu's body.

That wisp of his Real Qi dashed into Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen under his guidance, and started to wrap the mass of red flames in several layers.

Consequently, the scorching heat waves that Zhong Xiu's body was sending out immediately weakened. At the same time, the turbulent flow of Real Qi and magic power in her meridians also began to subside.

Zhong Xiu issued a whisper-like groaning sound at this moment. Even her facial expression looked a little gentle.

Shi Mu's face beamed with happiness as he saw this. However, he hadn't even heaved a sigh of relief when the raging flames in Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen trembled again. Then, they flared up and started billowing like clouds. Simultaneously, they started to attack the layer of Shi Mu's Real Qi that had just enveloped them.

Shi Mu immediately increased the flow of his Real Qi into her body in order to resist the impact of raging flame when he saw this situation.

However, the constant pounding of the flames continued to get even stronger with each passing second… so much so that Shi Mu found himself unable to resist it even with his current level of strength.

Shi Mu gave a low shout, and began the operation of his Real Qi with full force. His Real Qi gushed out of his in such a manner as if the lock on the waterway was opened, and barely managed to withstand the impact of the raging flames.

However, a flush of exhaustion had smeared Shi Mu's face only in a matter of few seconds. Also, a thin layer of cold sweat had also bubbled up on his forehead.

The fact was the greater half of his Real Qi had been already consumed by him by now, whereas the mass of billowing flames still didn't show the slightest sign of suppression.

Shi Mu clenched his teeth, and started to pour out his Real Qi through his right hand with all his strength. Meanwhile, a middle-ranked fire-attribute spirit stone appeared in his left hand with a flash of red light. And, he clenched it firmly in his palm.

After that, fine wisps of red light seeped out of the spirit stone, and started to merge into Shi Mu's body.

Resultantly, the fast consumption of his Real Qi slowed down at once. Even his face loosened a bit.

The Real Qi in his body was still not enough to make both ends meet. But it was ample enough to persist for a longer time.

Time rolled on, and almost half an hour passed like this.

Several spirit stones were scattered on the ground around Shi Mu by now; there were almost a hundred of them. But, the miraculous radiance of these stones had already died down.

On the other side, Shi Mu still grasped a spirit stone in his left hand. Also, his right hand was still pressed against Zhong Xiu's underbelly where her lower abdomen was.

He had an unending stream of spirit stone to replenish the supply. However, his complexion had still turned white from red like a pale paper. Also, only a thin layer of red radiance remained on the surface of his body by now.

However, the thing that made him feel greatly relieved was that… most of the strength of the raging flames in Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen seemed to have been consumed by now. And, the remaining flames were still gradually receding.

Shi Mu again flung the spirit stone away that he held in his left hand, and substituted it with another spirit stone. He then clenched his teeth, and continued to infuse his Real Qi into her body.

Some time again passed like this. After that, the mass of flames that was blazing in Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen trembled a bit. Then, it stagnated and didn't show any fluctuation afterwards.

Shi Mu's facial expression loosened a bit as he saw this. He again released his spirit sense to explore Zhong Xiu's body one more time. He examined her and soon confirmed that the mass of flames that was blazing in her body had genuinely stopped. Hence, his body relaxed on the ground, and he started to gasp for breath.

He held a spirit stone in his hand after some time, and continued to restore his Real Qi. Meanwhile, he again released his spirit sense to examine Zhong Xi's condition.

The scorching heat waves that Zhong Xiu's body was sending forth suddenly dissipated. Then, her long eyelashes fluttered a bit and her eyes opened. Her complexion was still pale without a trace of reddish glow.

"Miss Xiu!" Shi Mu exclaimed with happiness.

"Big Brother Shi, I..." Zhong Xiu turned her head to look at Shi Mu with some difficulty. Then, she lifted her trembling hand.

"Don't talk, you are still very weak now. Take some rest first." Shi Mu held Zhong Xiu's hand and said in a gentle voice.

Zhong Xiu nodded in a slow manner.

"Big Brother Shi, thank you..." She said with little difficulty.

"Idiot, there is no need to use words to express gratitude between the two of us." Shi Mu said.

Zhong Xiu smiled in a weak manner. She was about to speak something when something strange occurred again!

Simultaneously, a hint of pain emerged on her face once again. Her frail body started to tremble as if it had received a jolt. Her eyes got closed, and she lost consciousness once again.

Shi Mu was alarmed to see that the fervent heat had again emerged in Zhong Xiu's body. In addition, the blazing flames in her lower abdomen — that had just calmed down – had again flared up in a violent manner.

Shi Mu pressed his palms against Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen, and started to infuse his Real Qi into her body in order to suppress the flames again.

In this meantime, Zhong Xiu's body again revealed a strange change. A layer of faint-golden radiance suddenly emerged on her skin. Soon after that, vein-like red lines started to emerge on the surface of her body; they were almost similar to the meridians.

Boom!

The roaring flames again erupted in Zhong Xiu's lower abdomen. However, the intensity of these flames was more than ten times stronger than that of previous flames'. They were so strong that they ripped apart Shi Mu's Real Qi in an instant.

The vein-like red patterns on Zhong Xiu's body gleamed once. The next moment, innumerable red flames scuttled out of these red lines. They then started to proliferate in all directions like a fiery tongue. Shi Mu was close at hand. So, he was caught off guard, and got wrapped up in flames in an instant.

Zhong Xiu's clothes also got caught in the billowing flames and were reduced to ashes in a fleeting second. And, a perfect young girl's body got exposed as a result. However, there wasn't the slightest trace of injury on her body despite the fact that she was curled up in blazing flames.

The billowing red flames were still spreading from the surface of her body in an unceasing manner. They were moving up and down in such a manner as if a cloth of red cloud was woven by flames, and was wrapped around the girl's ketone body.

Zhong Xiu's eyes were closed, but her exquisite heavenly beauty was setting against the heinous blazing flames. In fact, she appeared all the more bright and dazzling… so much so that Shi Mu was thrown in a stunned state for a split second.

But then, Shi Mu held out his hand and held Zhong Xiu's hand.

Suddenly, countless flames rolled out of her body and spread around. The entire warehouse turned into a vast sea of fire as a result.

A lot of things were still arranged in the warehouse. Some of them were ores. But, all of them were swept up by the flames. Then, they started to melt and disappear - like candles.

The flames spread in all direction at lightning speed. But, the few layers of light screens - that were cast around the warehouse - blocked the impact of the flames in a firm manner. They only flashed and exuded bright rays of light, but eventually withstood them.

The fact was Shi Mu had gone through some untold hardships to arrange all these prohibition spells around the warehouse. The offensive power of these spells wasn't very strong. But, their defensive power wasn't weak. They did flash in a crazy manner. But, they finally succeeded in suppressing these flames for the time being.