The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu was trapped in the midst of the sea of fire. Therefore, his all clothes had already been burned to ashes, and his steel-cast-like strong and muscular body was fully exposed.

It couldn’t be said when the surface of his swarthy skin had got curled up in a layer of faint-red Real Qi. In addition, a layer of translucent white Qi could also be seen outside the Real Qi-condensed protective shield.

This was the defensive mean that Shi Mu had displayed at quickest speed right before he was engulfed by the blazing flames. He had resorted to this technique in an attempt to resist the invasion of the surrounding tumultuous flames.

The thin layer of Qi had barely appeared on the surface of his body, but it melted away in an instant under the corrosion of the blazing flames. It couldn’t withstand the flames even a moment.

As for the Real Qi-condensed fire-attribute protective shield that was faint-red in color… it had also started to thin down and soon became almost transparent by the impact of the roaring flames’ combustion.

Shi Mu felt as if he had placed himself in a stove of raging flames. The surging fiery waves were pouncing towards him head-on from all sides. He felt a kind of scorching and stabbing pain in every inch of his skin that couldn’t be explained in words.

Fortunately, Shi Mu practiced a fire-attribute cultivation art. And, this had provided him with unusual resistance and adaptability to the scorching high temperature. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to resist it, and might have lost his consciousness by now.

Shi Mu soon began to experience difficulty in breathing under this situation. Even the expression in his eyes was somewhat blurred. But, his left hand still firmly gripped Zhong Xiu’s hand. He didn’t loosen his grip even though he was in difficulty.

“Miss Xiu!”

Suddenly, Shi Mu’s heart shuddered with a flash of understanding. He immediately bit his tongue’s tip, and a hint of sobriety flashed through his eyes.

He then raised his right hand without demur, and a series of blue-colored magic charms flew out of his hand. They then exploded at the same time.

The next moment, a wide expanse faint-blue cold air surged up in a turbulent manner. Then, it revealed a violent tumble, and got condensed into a layer of blue mist cocoon on the surface of Shi Mu’s body. And then, it separated his body from the torrent of surrounding raging flames.

The only thing Shi Mu felt at the moment was the cold touch of surrounding air on his skin. Also, a kind of indescribably cold and refreshing feeling plummeted down on him.

However, this sort of feeling only lasted for less than a moment. Shi Mu saw that the surging and billowing surrounding flames rolling towards him… as if countless gigantic beasts were constantly attacking him from all directions with their ferocious mouths wide open. Consequently, the surface of the blue mist cocoon issued a “Chi Chi” sound. And then, it started to become weaker at fast speed.

Shi Mu didn’t even get sufficient time to make other moves when he saw that the blue mist cocoon around him shattered to pieces with a loud ‘Bang’ sound!

After that, the raging flames once again engulfed Shi Mu. Shi Mu felt that the thin layer of the Real-condensed protective shield on his body had become even thinner. In fact, only a cicada’s wing-like thin layer barely covered his whole body.

It seemed like a long time had passed since all these things started. But, the fact was that only a few breaths had passed since Zhong Xiu’s body had undergone a strange change again.

Amid all this chaos, the surface of Shi Mu’s black blade – that was on his back – got suffused with a layer of deep and mysterious radiance. At the same time, an invisible suction force was issued from the black blade. Streaks of flame started to branch out of the billowing cloud of flames in response. Then, they started to change their direction, and submerged into the black blade one after another — like a moth throwing itself into the flames.

The tumultuous flames began to smash against Shi Mu’s body, and made his skin bright red like fire.

Shi Mu felt an excruciating pain all over his body. The overwhelming force of the raging fire passed through his Real Qi-condensed protective shield, and invaded his body. Then, it permeated his muscles and veins.

Shi Mu tightly gritted his teeth in pain. Some beads of sweat started to seep out of his forehead. But, they got evaporated as soon as they came into appearance.

Shi Mu felt as if a curtain of darkness had spread before his eyes. Eventually, he lost consciousness and fainted.

However, his left hand continued to hold Zhong Xiu’s right hand in a persistent manner. In fact, it seemed like he was anxious that he might lose her once he loosened his grip on her.

The blazing flame was still swallowing everything in the warehouse in a ruthless manner. Simultaneously, Shi Mu’s skin was getting redder by the impact of the flame.

However, Shi Mu still managed to preserve his body from being completely burnt since he had the support of the last layer of the Real-Qi-condensed protective shield. In addition, some part of the raging flames had also been absorbed by his black blade. Otherwise, it was certain that he wouldn’t have been able to resist it for so long.

On the other side, Zhong Xiu’s body was similarly curled up in the cloud of billowing flames as him.

Her eyes were closed, and her snow-like white skin looked bright red at the moment. This reddish glow seemed to be adding a bit more charm and delicacy to her mesmerizing beauty. However, the tinge of acute pain and suffering could also be seen on her face. Suddenly, her delicate body trembled a bit… as if it was enduring some kind of inhuman suffering.

Then, a black light departed somewhere from Zhong Xiu, and suspended in midair without any base.

A thumb-sized black bead could be seen amid the black light. And, a circle of faint-golden patterns was engraved on the surface of that bead.

It was the same bead that Zhong Xiu had received as a present from the mysterious monk — Miao Kong — at the border of the ancient Xixia country on the Eastern continent.

The bead quivered a bit. Then, the golden patterns on the surface of the bead brightened up, and started to spin at a very fast speed. Then, a circle of pale-golden miraculous light burst out and proliferated in all directions.

Then, an incredible scene appeared!

It seemed like the tumultuous raging flames — that were blazing everywhere in the warehouse — were somewhat afraid of this pale-golden halo. And, a small space was immediately pushed-open in the cloud of flames by the layer of golden halo.

Then, a vast-stretched mass of black light emerged from the black bead. This black light was actually some abstruse black magic characters. They started to move up-and-down amid the pale-golden halo in an incessant manner.

The black bead started to reduce in size at a visibly fast speed as the black magic characters continued to appear one after another. And then, it disappeared without a trace.

Then, it seemed as if these black magic characters suddenly received some kind of summon since they started to flash one after another. Then, they dashed below at astonishing speed, and began to submerge into Zhong Xiu’s body.

Consequently, the hint of pain and sufferings that was clearly visible on Zhong Xiu’s face started to lighten a bit every time a black magic character made its way into Zhong Xiu’s body. Even the vein-like red patterns on her skin also dimmed a little.

The range of blazing flames that had flooded the entire warehouse also reduced to a great degree. And, they still continued to converge towards Zhong Xiu’s body continuously.

The pale-golden halo dissipated when all black magic characters seeped into Zhong Xiu’s body.

The greater part of the blazing flames that had been wrecking havoc in the entire warehouse had drawn back to Zhong Xiu’s body by now. At this time, they got condensed into a huge fiery bird. Then, that bird spread its wings and flapped to fly in the air.

However, this situation lasted only for a moment. After that, the big blazing bird screamed once and turned into a feathered-robe that was made up of blazing flames. Then, it wrapped around Zhong Xiu’s whole body.

Shi Mu still lay beside Zhong Xiu’s body, and was still curled up in the remaining cloud of fire. The skin of his whole body had turned bright red in color like a fire. His eyes were closed, and he was still lying in an unconscious state.

Suddenly, the void above the warehouse revealed a burst of fluctuation.

Then, a palm of the hand-sized simple copper mirror swept across the void.

It seemed as if that copper mirror had some kind of spiritual energy since the mirror aimed straight at Zhong Xiu’s body after it swept across the void.

Then, a “Chi” sound was heard, and a golden light started to move on the mirror’s surface. After that, a beam of pale-golden light darted out of the mirror’s surface.

Numerous multi-colored magic characters rolled out of that light beam. They revealed a fit of interweaving movement for a moment. Then, they began to condense into a fuzzy silhouette of a person. Simultaneously, that fuzzy silhouette began to grow clearer in a slow manner.

It was the virtual shadow of a woman who wore a phoenix crown on her head. Also, a multi-colored feathered-robe was draped over her body.

This woman’s pupils were golden in color, and she had beautiful facial features. Her whole body was sending forth a pale-golden light. And, that light was permeated with a kind of sacred and inviolable aura that couldn’t be explained in words.

The phoenix-crowned woman glanced at Zhong Xiu once… as if she sensed something. Then, a hint of delight emerged on her face in response; Zhong Xiu lay on the ground and was shrouded in the mass of flames at the moment. The woman then said in a whispering tone, “There is genuinely someone in such a small and remote area who has the ability to awaken the bloodline of Heavenly Phoenix. It’s indeed a gratifying matter! However, who anticipates this in advance and tries to suppress the power of the bloodline’ counter-attack… Perhaps, she is the member of the same family who doesn’t have…”

Her voice was sweet and pleasant to listen to – like the sounds of nature.

However, her gaze moved and fell beside Zhong Xiu’s body the next moment. She threw a glance at Shi Mu who lay on the ground alongside Zhong Xiu, and held hands with her. Her delicate brows creased, and a flush of blush rose to her cheeks in response. But, she immediately shifted her gaze and sneered, “Humph! A trivial man of the lowly Human race actually dared to make a futile attempt to tarnish the bloodline of the Phoenix family. This sin is unforgivable. The only thing he deserves now is death!”

Her voice had barely faded when she lifted her hand… as if she wanted to do something.

But then, the magic spell she was about to cast changed as she took a look at Zhong Xiu once. Then, a mass of gentle light flew out of her gown’s sleeve and wrapped Zhong Xiu’s up. Then, it made her body rise into the air slowly. Consequently, Shi Mu’s grip on her right hand also loosened.

The raging flames – that shrouded Zhong Xiu’s whole body – started to struggle and quiver a few times as soon as it came in contact with the soft multi-colored light. Soon afterwards, they submerged into the red patterns on Zhong Xiu’s body as they had appeared some time ago. But, Shi Mu was left covered in the layers of blazing flames as before.

Those flames returned to Zhong Xiu’s body in no time. Afterwards, the vein-like red patterns on the surface of her body started to gradually fade. Then, they eventually disappeared.

Zhong Xiu was stark naked at this moment. Her eyes were closed. Her beautiful and long eyelashes were slightly shaking. Her flawless white skin was smeared with a faint red color. She was breathing in a symmetrical rhythm… as if she was sound asleep.

The phoenix-crowned woman saw this, and an affectionate look flashed through her beautiful eyes. She again raised her hand, and a red cloth flew out. It then wound around Zhong Xiu’s ketone body.

The phoenix-crowned woman’s facial expression turned cold after finishing all these things. She then flicked her finger, and a golden flame flew out of it. That golden flame silently blended into the red-colored flame that was still blazing on the surface of Shi Mu’s body.

Swish!

The intensity of the red blazing flame seemed as if reduced a bit as the golden flame blended into it. But, it immediately turned into a pale-golden-colored flame.

The thin layer of the fire-attribute Real Qi-condensed protective shield was still there on Shi Mu’s body. But, it immediately collapsed and dispersed under the influence of the pale-golden flames.

A muffled groan – that was permeated with a tinge of pain and suffering – spread from Shi Mu’s mouth at this time. His hair and beard immediately reduced to ashes. At the same time, his skin began to become black in the golden flame. Also, a faint smell of burnt meat started to spread from his skin.

The phoenix-crowned woman didn’t cast a glance at Shi Mu after projecting the golden flame. It couldn’t be said why she did so… whether she was too confident about her technique or she looked down on him. She instead pointed her finger at the copper mirror that still suspended in the air.

The surface of the copper mirror lit up, and emanated vibrant rays of light in response. After that, it shot out a beam of pale-golden light that dashed, and wrapped around Zhong Xiu who still suspended in the air. Then, it turned into a mass of golden light and seeped into the copper mirror.

After that, the phoenix-crowned woman’s silhouette became fuzzy and turned into numerous multi-colored magic characters as before. Then, those characters also got pulled into the copper mirror along with the retraction of the pale-golden light beam.

Afterwards, the copper mirror disappeared into thin air the same way it had appeared before.

Silence engulfed the warehouse once again.

But, the pale-golden flame on Shi Mu’s body continued to burn as before. One could find that there was a streak of flame in the golden flame if one would examine it carefully. And, that streak of flame was being absorbed by the black blade that hung on Shi Mu’s back.

The excruciating pain that Shi Mu was experiencing made him recover his spirit sense to a certain degree. However, he was still in the half-asleep and half-awake state.

All he felt was a kind of scalding hot feeling all over his body. In addition, his whole body was also experiencing a kind of stabbing pain… as if he was being lacerated with a sharp object. It was too painful for him to endure. Even the flesh and blood in his body were seething by the impact of the golden flame… as if they were about to spew out at any moment.

His whole body had turned black in color like a man made of coal. And, tiny golden lights were faintly twinkling on the surface of his scorched-black skin. The fact was that not an inch of his skin was intact now.

“Miss Xiu, Miss Xiu…” Shi Mu began to mutter to himself in a subconscious state.

Soon, he stopped feeling any pain and completely fell into a stupor.

The skin of his left-hand had turned black due to constant burn. But, a silk of silver light was vaguely discernible on the surface of his left hand.