The Portal of Wonderland

Lu Qing heard Shi Mu’s words and his facial expression was somewhat unpleasant.

“Yes, I’ll take note of that.”

He looked at Shi Mu as if he was waiting for a signal from him.

Xu Yuan turned around and said “Shi Mu, according to the rules, unless you have no lower-grade spirit waterfalls, you’re not allowed to install any more of them. So, what’s your next move?”

“Ah, I see. Then, I’ll place bets on these seven medium-grade waterfalls,” Shi Mu chuckled as he took out a piece of cyan jade and waved it over the big stone.

“Haha! Brother Shi Mu sure is generous. I won’t hesitate to win a spirit waterfall from you!”

Lu Qing’s eyes brightened and he laughed heartily. Behind him, a piercing gray light shined as a huge energy construct of a giant deer appeared.

The deer materialized in a flash and turned back into a large gray light. All around his body, a huge spiritual pressure spread wildly, mixing with a cold force.

Shi Mu’s eyes remained vigilant as the aura and qi exuded by this opponent were no weaker than Long Zhanye and the others. When in the presence of such a person, his alertness increased.

Seeing this, Shi Mu’s body glowed red as a black light flashed in his hand, unleashing the Wishful Steel Staff.

The gray light hanging around Lu Qing’s body quickly dissipated, revealing his figure. His upper body was human, but his muscles were bulging more than before. His lower body was that of a giant deer with four mighty hooves stomping on the ground. The two antlers on its head were several times longer than average and emitted a dazzling gray light.

Lu Qing was bathed in gray light as he held onto the gray spear in his hand. The surface of the spear was covered with runes, emitting a devastating chilly atmosphere.

Shi Mu’s eyes flashed as he realized the gray spear was a treasure weapon.

“Take this, Shi Mu!”

With a stomp of his feet, all four hooves moved and Lu Qing suddenly vanished from sight. Then, like a ghost, he reappeared in front of Shi Mu. The tip of his spear was flashing coldly as if to blind Shi Mu. It was aimed right at his chest.

When the cold light condensed, a fog formed that kept Shi Mu from any attempted escapes. At this point, it was impossible for Shi Mu to avoid the attack.

Shi Mu did not seem to be reacting at all. He continued standing still and was pierced by the gray spear.

“I win!”

Lu Qing’s face was ecstatic.

However, in the next moment, the joyous expression on his face faded. After being pierced by Lu Qing’s spear, Shi Mu’s body slowly dissipated. It was just another residual image he had left.

Not far behind, the real Shi Mu suddenly appeared with flaming wings on his back.

His arm moved and the Wishful Steel Staff in his hand suddenly dissolved into a black shadow. It swept across Lu Qing’s waist like a serpent.

“How is this possible?!”

Lu Qing’s expression changed drastically. He was caught off guard by the fact that his speed was no match for Shi Mu’s.

He roared in anger and turned around, still clutching the gray spear tightly. The spear fluttered in the sky, blocking the attack from the black staff shadow.

After a while, the shadow of the staff dissipated.

Shi Mu brandished his staff as his surroundings gradually turned white. With a sly smirk, his body suddenly faded and turned into two blurry afterimages, both holding a black staff.

“Art of The Tiger Paw!”

“Spirit Snake Trench!”

The two figures seemed to each be displaying a technique from the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven.

Dense white shadows of a tiger and rhinoceros emerged followed by overwhelming air pressure. It rushed from both sides toward Lu Qing.

Wherever the shadows of the staff technique passed, ripples would appear in space!

Lu Qing’s face sank. He swiftly held his spear in front of him, trying to protect himself from the attack.

The shadows of the spear turned into two gray hurricanes, electric rays like snakes emerged from within them. There was a constant sound of rolling thunder.

As the gray and white waves intertwined and entangled, there were blood-curdling screams. Countless light clusters burst in between the space as the aura spread across the sky and the surrounding temperature plummeted.

However, when Lu Qing thought that he had successfully resisted all the attacks, a cool breeze caught him off guard from behind.

“Not good…” Lu Qing’s heart skipped a beat as he cursed under his breath.

Shi Mu was a step faster than Lu Qing and suddenly appeared behind him. The staff in his hands had enlarged, and with his tremendous speed, he landed a decisive hit.

This time, Shi Mu and Lu Qing were too close, so Li Qing was unable to avoid the attack. With such worrying thoughts running through his head, he bit on his teeth and roared at the sky. In just a blink of an eye, the pair of antlers on his head suddenly shimmered as countless gray strands of silk sprang out from the middle. At the same time, a cold chill fell upon the area.

In an instant, the surface of the black staff was wrapped tightly in the gray silk.

Shi Mu retracted the flaming wings on his back and unleashed the Crimson Ape Energy Construct. Immediately, it began to spurt out a mouthful of flames.

“Primordial Inferno!!” Lu Qing was stunned and his eyes showed a hint of jealousy.

As soon as the gray silk came into contact with the Primordial Inferno, it immediately collapsed and disappeared out of sight!

Peng!

There was a sullen yet fierce sigh. Without the obstruction of the gray silk, the shadow of the black staff was able to break free like a horse that had been bound for centuries as it landed on Lu Qing’s back.

Ka-cha!

There was the sound of bones cracking!

The gray light that was surrounding Lu Qing’s body gradually faded as he was sent flying like a meteor. The force was so strong that he smashed into the ground and created a huge pit.

He could not stop himself from coughing up large pools of blood. The gray spear that he had held so tightly in his hand was flung into the distance by the force.

All of this seemed to last for quite some time, but in reality, Lu Qing was knocked down by Shi Mu within just a few breaths and attacks. He had yet to unleash his full strength.

Among the spectators, the Sun-ranked sorcerer and the huge man could not believe what had just happened in front of them.

They had heard the news of Shi Mu defeating the top three disciples on the list of century-disciples and that he had passed the challenge of the Enchanted Road as well. Nevertheless, they had yet to put much thought on a century-year-old disciple.

After all, in the Holy Land of Qinglan, the cultivation of a century-year-old disciple was nowhere near that of a millennium disciple. However, that was not the case anymore.

Xu Yuan’s eyes flashed with a trace of surprise and he looked at Shi Mu with greater interest.

Lu Qing struggled to get to his feet. His right arm limply hung at his side and his body swayed.

“Do you still want to fight?”

The Crimson Ape Energy Construct retracted, but Shi Mu did not back down. He threw the Wishful Steel Staff into the air and grabbed it with his right hand as it fell. He pointed at Lu Qing, seemingly trying to challenge him once more.

Lu Qing saw the look on Shi Mu’s face and his body trembled in fear as he hurriedly said, “Shi… Brother Shi Mu is strong. I admit my defeat.”

“Lu Qing admits his defeat. Hence, the spirit waterfall now belongs to Shi Mu!” Xu Yuan announced.

Shi Mu nodded in acknowledgment. In a blink of an eye, his figure flashed and appeared next to Xu Yuan. He put his hand out and collected the two cyan jade plates.

Lu Qing’s body flashed gray as he returned to his human form. Seeing Shi Mu taking away his cyan jade plates struck him to the core. Losing to a newcomer was a heavy blow to his ego and pride.

He only had two inferior spirit waterfalls in his name. He had thought by challenging a newcomer, he would be able to gain all the spirit waterfalls. He saw them as easy prey. He did not expect to be the one to lose and left with one spirit waterfall in his name.

Shi Mu looked over at the huge man and the Sun-ranked sorcerer as he said softly, “Well, let’s proceed to the next round. I have something important to attend to, so I have to head back as soon as the battle is done.”

The other men’s faces instantly seethed with anger. Shi Mu’s tone and a remark made it seem as if he was oblivious to their existence.

“Hmph! Don’t think that just because you can conjure Primordial Inferno, you have the right to be arrogant. I’m betting all eight inferior spirit waterfalls that I possess.” The Sun-ranked sorcerer snorted in disgust and anger as he tossed his cyan jade plate on the ground, right in front of Xu Yuan.

His body then began to glow with a glaring white light as he arrived in front of Shi Mu.

The white light flashing brightly behind him gradually formed a huge wheel of light, somewhat similar to the shadow of a burning sun.

A powerful force spread out and the surrounding temperature within a few dozen feet suddenly rose significantly.

Although Shi Mu had defeated Lu Qing, he had used up some of his strength in the battle.

“I happen to have eight inferior spirit waterfalls to my name as well. I will teach you what real power is!” Shi Mu too threw out his piece of cyan jade and shouted as a red light surrounded his body, forming into a pair of flaming wings.

He stretched out his arms and everything within ten feet of him suddenly turned into a sea of fire. Such strong flames were able to resist the qi fluctuations of the sorcerer.

The Sun-ranked sorcerer’s eyes twitched slightly. He was of the fire attribute and had not expected Shi Mu to be cultivating fire-attributed techniques as well. Given that, it was only natural that Shi Mu would be able to withstand any fire-attributed attacks.

He relaxed a little as he had spent a good deal of time and resources to purchase two formidable fire-attribute techniques from the Holy Land. He had been perfecting the techniques for some time, so he did not think it would be much of a problem for him.

He began to chant under his breath. With a wave of his hand, two rings with red gemstones on his fingers began to glow.

His body began to flash violently as three groups of flames rose, emitting fearsome waves of fire-attributed auras.

The flame on the far left flashed as it rapidly stretched into a huge fire serpent more than ten feet long. From the head to toe, its scales were distinct and vivid, as if it had a life of its own.

In the middle, a group of flames turned into a twenty-feet-long bird. Its entire body was covered with bright feathers. Naturally, its feathers were composed of red hot flames that radiated a cold, steel-like light. It was a Vermillion Bird.

The last group of flames swayed down and turned into a huge flaming bird. It was bigger than the previous one, and its long tail stretched out behind it. It was a phoenix.

The youth waved once again and the white light behind his head flashed. Three white rays flew out of it and beamed into the three flaming monsters.

The fire of the three-headed flame beasts grew three times its initial size. They all roared one after another as their wings fired three streams toward Shi Mu.

In an instant, the flames in the entire valley flared up. The heat was so extreme that it seemed like the entire place where they stood was boiling like a hellish pit.

Shi Mu’s eyebrows arched a little. It seemed that this young man’s capabilities surpassed Lu Qing’s. However, Shi Mu did not show any hint of surprise on his face.

He snorted and his body glowed, and a golden scale emerged. The momentum of the whole person suddenly rose.