The Portal of Wonderland - Chapter 213

Chapter 213

Shi Mu and his team-members had already encountered two or three sandstorms since the time they had set out on this journey . But, none of those sandstorms had been as huge as this one .

"Look at the scale of this sandstorm . I’m afraid that it might not stop today . Everyone, prepare to take a break this evening . We’ll continue with our journey tomorrow," Jin Xiao Chai looked towards the entrance of the cave and said .

The other people complied . Each of them found a place, and sat down .

Shi Mu looked towards the cave’s entrance . He noticed some traces on the surface of the cave’s walls . It seemed that it was a man-made cave . It was dark inside the cave; so much so that nothing was visible . Moreover, it was uncertain where this cave was leading to .

Shi Mu seemed to be surprised . This place seemed to be a mining cave .

However, this cave wasn’t the only mining-cave in that place . They had already come across a number of similar mining-caves along their way; all of them had been in the periphery of the Black Rock Mountains . Moreover, the marks on these caves made it seem that they were ancient mines dating back several years . In fact, they had probably been abandoned hundreds of years ago .

The other people also sized-up the cave’s environment with a curious look in their eyes .

"This is an abandoned Spirit Stone mine . You people must’ve caught sight of several other similar mines on the way; they were the same . " Jin Xiao Chai noticed everyone's facial expressions . She then said .

"Spirit Stones mine!" Shi Mu was left dumbfounded .

Shi Mu had gone through some of the ancient books of the barbarian race when he was in the Holy Snow Palace . So, he knew that the barbarian Wasteland was blessed with various kinds of metallic natural resources . But, he had never heard that the Wasteland was also blessed with rich Spirit Stones .

How could this place be in such a barren state if the barbarian race was so rich in Spirit Stones?

"These things really exist?" Mo Ning and the other three people looked flabbergasted .

"All this had been written down in some of the records of the Sect’s hidden history . Only the elders have access to them . You haven’t seen them . Those records don’t have anything particular that could make them standout in the crowd," Jin Xiao Chai explained .

"The barbarian Wasteland was a fertile land thousands of years ago as per the Sect’s secret historical records . And, it was blessed with spirit stones of the five elements in plentiful quantities . So, all the major Sects of the Central Mainland began to dispatch their people to these sites in order to extract resources . The land gradually lost its vitality due to the incessant excavation of resources, and turned into a bleak and desolate land that you see now, "Jin Xiao Chai continued to speak .

Shi Mu and the others nodded thoughtfully as they heard these words .

Shi Mu thought what would happen if a barbarian warrior would see this record in the Sect . He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart .

The barbarian Wasteland was reckoned as a restricted area thousands of years ago . It used to be laden with luxuriant vegetation and a beautiful green landscape back in those days . But, thousands of years had passed since that time .

These people were successful practitioners . So, they could live for much longer than an average human could . Some could even live for a hundred years or more . However, this time period was nothing more than a blip in the eyes of the planet .

The sandstorm was howling outside the cave in a continuous manner . So, everyone looked low-spirited .

The wild-goose is lamenting,

The long road seems never-ending .

My anger is soaring because of this weather,

I feel too weak and exhausted to get away from the Wasteland .

Courage and power have already exhausted,

Finally, the strength can’t rise again .

The body has already died, and the soul has departed .

Now the soul turns to ghost .

How many sorrows rise from the desolate earth,

I no longer return to my hometown . And, the attic-storied building is left all empty .

Bai Shui Xiu sat on one side . Suddenly, a soft humming voice resounded in the cave . The song was gentle . But, it revealed a feeling of impermanence of life . The song had a merciless feel to it .

Everyone seemed to be influenced by the song . So, they chimed-in one after another .

Only Jin Xian Chai’s eyes were still gazing outside the cave . It couldn’t be understood what she was thinking about .

A few people smiled as Bai Shui Xiu finally stopped singing . The gloomy atmosphere of the cave had become pleasant and lively by now .

"Hehe… Sister Bai is a prodigy in magic arts . But, I never thought that her voice would be extremely melodious and pleasant . This is the first time that I’ve heard Sister Bai sing," Qian Xiong smiled, and said in an appreciating tone .

"Brother Qian is making fun of me . This is a folk song from my hometown . So, it’s very close to my heart . It reminds me of some beautiful memories . I only hummed a few words unconsciously," Bai Shui Xiu replied with a smile .

"I still don’t know where Sister Bai’s hometown is," Qian Xiong went a bit closer to Bai Shui Xiu and asked .

Then, the two of them began to talk in soft voices . Qian Xiong looked a little dense and crazy . But, he was extremely talkative . His sparkling words soon started to tickle Bai Shui Xiu, and made her burst into a giggle . Consequently, her delicate laughter began to resound in the cave .

A gloomy expression flashed in Mo Ning’s eyes as he saw them talking blissfully . He then turned his head to the other side .

A trace of smile bloomed on Shi Mu’s face as he looked into the eyes of these three people . He then got-up, and walked into the depths of the mine . He sat down cross-legged once he was at a considerable distance from the other people .

Cai perched on his shoulder, and narrowed its eyes . It seemed as if it had fallen asleep .

The sky outside the cave was soon covered with a curtain of darkness . Qian Xiong and Bai Shui Xiu had stopped talking by now . And, each of them had started to look for a place to take rest .

Time passed slowly . Peace prevailed inside the cave at this time . Only soft breathing sounds could be heard inside the cave .

Shi Mu still sat cross-legged . Suddenly, he opened his eyes . Then, a scene emerged in his mind .

There was a huge underground cave . A blazing and fiery-red river of magma was slowly flowing inside it . Several fervent waves and air-bubbles were ascending from the magma in a frequent manner .

Surprisingly, a few fiery-red fishes could be seen swimming in this scorching river of magma .

"Shi Tou, hurry-up and come over here . There are some good things in the depths of the mine," the voice of the parrot rang in Shi Mu’s mind .

Shi Mu’s brows twitched as his vision swept towards the other people in the cave .

It was dark inside the cave; so much so that one couldn’t even see their own fingers . But, this darkness couldn’t have the slightest impact on Shi Mu .

Jin Xiao Chai, Mo Ning and others were either asleep or sitting in meditation .

Shi Mu got-up, and quietly walked into the depths of the mine .

Shi Mu’s silhouette soon disappeared . Jin Xiao Chai was sitting with her back rested against the stone-wall . Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and looked in the direction where Shi Mu was headed . A trace of astonishment streaked across her beautiful eyes . Then, she stood-up, and started to follow after him in stealth mode .

Shi Mu accelerated his pace once there was a considerable distance between him and the other people .

The depth of this cave had far surpassed Shi Mu’s expectation . He continued to walk forward for a quarter-of-an-hour . But, there was still no sign of an end to the cave .

The cave’s path gradually stretched downwards . The path had seven or eight twists and turns . But, there was only one road . So, there was no fear of taking the wrong path .

The temperature inside the cave started to rise as he continued to walk downwards .

The cave led him to an underground magma-river .

Shi Mu continued to walk downwards for seven or eight more minutes . Then, a passageway appeared before him . It was blocked by a huge block of rock . But, a few small holes could be seen on the surface of the big rock . Those holes revealed a red luminescence on the other side of the rock . It seemed that Shi Mu would have to pass through this place in order to reach the magma-river .

These rocks obviously couldn’t block his path . Shi Mu gently pressed his hands against that huge block of rock, and pushed it aside . He then quickly entered into the space .

He arrived at the underground cave . A scorching air-wave hit his face as soon as he entered the underground area . The air-wave was so hot that it could make anyone crazy .

It seemed as if the air within Shi Mu’s body was boiling hot every time he breathed in .

"Shi Tou, why did you come here?" Cai flew over, and landed on Shi Mu’s shoulder . Then, it shouted in an impatient manner .

But, Shi Mu remained silent . He felt extremely hot and difficult to stand at that place even with his extremely strong physique .

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind . He then started to operate the Art of the Flaming Red Ape . After that, he inhaled a puff of scalding air-wave into his body . Suddenly, the sense of scalding-hot feeling disappeared without a trace .

Shi Mu’s face beamed with happiness . He inhaled a puff of scorching air of the magma once again . He felt a little stimulation in the Qi embryo inside his lower abdomen .

"Quack! Quack! It’s extremely hot here . Cai can’t stand it anymore . You suck away this scorching heat . Then, it would become much cooler," Cai shouted while flapping its wings .

"Cai, what are the good things that you were talking about?" Shi Mu asked without paying any attention to Cai’s words .

"You have no vision . You’re lucky that you became a top disciple of the Black Demon Sect," the parrot said while gazing at Shi Mu with squinted eyes .

Shi Mu shot a glaring look at the parrot .

"Well… well… I admit that whatever I said wasn’t good . Fine . Can you see fishes swimming in the magma? They’re the spirit beings that came into being due to the accumulation of fire-essence and underground evil spirits in this magma over a period of thousands of years," the parrot shrunk its neck, and said in a complacent tone .

"The fire-essence . . . " Shi Mu’s eyebrows twitched, and his eyes brightened-up .

As far as Shi Mu knew, fire-essence was a rare and valuable treasure for a fire-style magician that could support his fire-style Cultivation arts . So, they always yearned for this . Moreover, only the top-grade or higher fire-attribute spirit stones might contain the pure essence of fire .

"Don’t talk so much . Shi Tou, grab me a fiery-fish first," the parrot said in an anxious manner .

"You can also absorb the pure essence of fire?" Shi Mu was surprised .

"Of course! And, don’t look at me like this . Cai is also a fire-attribute spirit beast . There isn’t much difference between me and the Fire Phoenix . . . " the parrot said in a boastful manner .

Shi Mu didn’t pay attention to the parrot’s words . Instead, he started to read an incantation . Then, he gently waved his arm, and a white chain darted from his hand . He had done this by using the ‘Qi ring pile’ magic technique .

The white chain pierced the magma with a lightning speed . Then, a white light flashed . The white chain rolled-up a chopstick-like long fish, and flew backwards .

The parrot issued a cheerful sound . It was about to open its mouth in order to nip the flesh of the fish .

Suddenly, a layer of red radiance bubbled-up on the surface of Shi Mu’s hand, and he caught the fish in his hand .

Shi Mu didn’t care about the parrot’s discontented screeches . His eyebrows snapped into a frown as he examined the fish in his hand .

The surface of the fish’s body was translucent and red in color . It felt as light as a bird’s feather in Shi Mu’s hand .

He glanced at the fish . Then, he waved his hand, and tossed it towards the parrot .

Cai opened its mouth, and caught the fish . Then, it raised its neck a few times, and swallowed it down . Suddenly, a burst of faint-red radiance emerged on the surface of its body . The color of its feathers seemed to have turned into a fiery-red one .

Shi Mu caught another fiery fish once he had flung the previous one to the parrot .

After that, he started to operate the Art of the Flaming Red Ape . The layer of red radiance grew even brighter on his hand . Then, he grabbed another fish .

The fish continued to struggle . But, it couldn’t break itself free from his hand . The body of the fish shattered into pieces with a ‘pop’ sound after a moment . The shattered fragments transformed into a wisp of scorching-hot Red Qi . It was then sucked-in by Shi Mu .

Shi Mu’s eyes brightened-up . He stimulated the operation of the Art of the Flaming Red Ape as the Qi seeped into his body . Then, the wisp of Red Qi got integrated into his Qi embryo in the lower abdomen .

The Qi embryo in his lower abdomen surged, and its volume grew-up a little . Even its color became a lot deeper than before .

Shi Mu’s heart was overwhelmed with happiness . He had never thought that such a trivial amount of fire-essence of this fiery-fish would turn out to be so nutritious for him . It could be said that it was almost equivalent to his fifteen days of pain-staking practice .

"Shi Tou, don’t reap all the profits by yourself . I’ve discovered this place and these fiery-fishes . So, catch a few fishes for me first . "

Shi Mu shot a glance at Cai . Then, a white chain was shot from his hand . It rolled out a few fishes, and threw them towards the parrot .

The white chain continued to grab fishes out of the magma for a while .

There were a large number of fiery-fishes in the magma . Moreover, Shi Mu’s actions were very light and skillful; so much so that he didn’t even startle the other fishes .

Shi Mu sat down cross-legged on the ground, and started to operate the Art of the Flaming Red Ape in order to refine the fishes .

A wisp of fiery-red Qi flew, and submerged into Shi Mu’s body . Then, it integrated into the Qi embryo in his lower abdomen .

The Qi embryo grew even bigger and stronger than before . Then, its shape became round from its previous oval . And, it now looked like a fireball as it slowly rolled within his lower abdomen . It didn’t feel like a burst or two of magical power either…

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