The Portal of Wonderland - Chapter 294

Chapter 294: A Crisis Hidden Beneath the Surface
Gloomy clouds had shrouded the whole sky, and a fierce wind was constantly howling like an infuriated wild beast .




Mighty waves were emerging and surging forth in the boundless sea . A row of several feet high monstrous waves were constantly issuing deafening sounds . These monstrous waves looked like a mighty troop that was rushing ahead on the sea's surface in an endless manner .
There was a fleet of twenty-two large ships on the sea's surface . They looked like a massive black sea-snake which stretched several miles in the sea . In fact, this sea-snake seemed to be rushing ahead while cleaving through the mighty waves . The fleet had come from the east, and was advancing toward the west .
The ships in this fleet looked like small black hills . A miraculous radiance was flickering on the surface of these ships . The ships often got engulfed or raised by the mighty dark waves of the sea .
However, they would stubbornly forge ahead with their journey whenever the roaring sea-waves would recede .
In a room of a certain ship in the fleet…
Shi Mu sat on his bed with his legs crossed . His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be meditating .
This room was very small . It was only two by three meters in size .
In fact, everyone's room was very small and narrow owing to the limited space on the ship .
Howling wind and mighty waves were in full swing outside . Therefore, there wasn't a single person outside at this point of time . Everyone had hidden in their respective rooms .
Shi Mu raised his hands before his body, and a blue jade shuttle suspended over his hand . It exuded bursts of dazzling blue light .
This thing was the treasure of the young Taoist priest of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult . Shi Mu had killed that Earth-ranked powerhouse, and had obtained this thing from his body . He had figured out that this jade shuttle was a very precious flying spirit tool . So, he had embedded it in his body to nurture it in a warm temperature .
Shi Mu had noticed that many Earth-ranked martial warriors and Moon-ranked magicians were proficient in some sort of flying techniques . A handful of Star-ranked magicians also knew such techniques . Shi Mu also had a flying technique . It was called the Qi Cloud technique .
But, this kind of flying magic technique was normally suitable only for short-distance flights . In fact, it was mostly used in battles .
However, a person could manage a spatial flight through other means once he had attained the Heaven-rank .
And, flying magic tools and spirit tools were among those means .
It was said that refining a spirit tool that was primarily used for attacks was a highly difficult task . And, the number of flying spirit tools was less than these kinds of attacking spirit tools by far .
Shi Mu had spent a considerable amount of time in the central region of the Eastern Continent . But, this bluish-green jade shuttle was the first flying spirit tool that he had seen here . Fortunately, he had managed to catch hold of it .
However, Shi Mu had later realized that nurturing this shuttle in the warmth of his body was far more difficult than refining his golden sword . He had been working hard, but he hadn't even restored 20% of its implicit might till now . So, it was still incapable of flight .




Shi Mu had obtained two more spirit tools from the young Taoist priest . One of them was the silver whip, while the other was a silver spear . However, he hadn't gotten the time to nurture them until now .
The blue light on the surface of the shuttle flashed after some time, and a blue vein-like pattern gleamed . Then, the jade shuttle emitted even brighter blue radiance .
Shi Mu opened his eyes, and a gleam of delight flashed through his face . He then looked at the jade shuttle and nodded .
After that, the blue light flashed again, and the jade shuttle got absorbed into his body .
He then turned his hand, and took out a sapphire ring . This was the storage ring that Shi Mu had seized from that young Taoist priest .
The plentiful amount of wealth that was contained inside this storage ring was definitely the biggest treasure Shi Mu had ever encountered .
The three spirit tools were obviously the most precious things among that wealth . However, there were a substantial number of spirit stones, magic charms, and pills in this storage ring apart from the spirit tools . In fact, there were around thirty-or-forty thousand spirit stones in there .
Consequently, Shi Mu's wallet had gotten filled to an unprecedented extent .
"That man… he couldn't be Old Man Wu Chen's bastard, right?" Shi Mu couldn't help but make a wild guess .
He then shook his head, and put away the sapphire ring . After that, he got out of his bed and pulled-open a small window .
He could see the sea surface through the window . Monstrous sea waves were surging up violently in a constant manner . But, the Gigantic Vast Sea Boats was considerably huge in size . So, the stormy sea and the turbulent waves couldn't affect the navigation of these ships .
Half-a-month had passed since they had begun the voyage in the Yellow Sea . Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult and Heavenly Demon Sect hadn't caught up with them so far . This was itself a good enough reason to make everyone heave a sigh of relief .
They had come across several mighty waves and storms during this period . But, they had passed through those daunting experiences without a mishap .
Shi Mu looked around, and his brows slightly creased when he saw that Cai wasn't in the room . He must have gotten bored of being idle, and so had fled outside the room .
The sea was turbulent at this time with mighty waves and howling wind . Shi Mu had been very anxious in the beginning that Cai could get swept away by the strong wind . But, he had subsequently discovered that this worry was purely superfluous . Cai seemed fairly accustomed to flying in the strong wind without any adverse effect .
Cai's voice suddenly resounded in Shi Mu's mind .
"Shi Tou, the situation doesn't seem good . You should take a look . "
Cai's voice had barely faded when a picture appeared in Shi Mu's mind .




There were dozens of sea beasts in the dark bottom of the sea . And, all of them were over three-hundred feet in size . These strange-looking sea beasts seemed to have formed an arc-shaped formation, and were swimming at a slow pace .
In addition, there were innumerable small-sized marine beasts around them .
Shi Mu's complexion changed . After all, they would be in a difficult situation if so many marine beasts launched their attacks on their ships .

"Cai, go and take a look in the vicinity at once . How many of these beasts are there in the surrounding?" Shi Mu was alarmed by this . So, he used his spirit sense to make Cai survey the surrounding sea area .
"Leave it to me . They have hidden deep into the sea, but they still can't escape my magic eyes!" Cai replied with an air of complacency in his tone .
Shi Mu's cloudy facial expression finally loosened a bit . After that, he shoved open the door, and arrived at the deck .
The howling wind and turbulent waves outside looked very dreadful . The whistling sound of the wind was constantly ringing in the air . The world seemed to be shrouded in a curtain of gloominess at this time .
He looked toward the west… but, only saw the monstrous sea waves were still soaring to the sky . The Gigantic Vast Sea Boat that was in the front of the fleet looked like a black spot from afar .
Cai's voice rang again after a short while .
"Shi Tou, the situation is far from good! Myriads of sea beasts have gathered around the ships . And, a large number of them are welling up continually . They are substantially large in number!" Cai yelled .
The image of a large number of sea beasts also popped into Shi Mu's mind as Cai stated this . There were incredibly large octopuses and ferocious sharks in the vicinity; they were almost three-hundred feet long . In addition, there were a number of deep-sea whales that were also enormous in size . In fact, most of them were large-sized marine beasts that Shi Mu was unable to recognize .
These rarely-seen behemoths could be seen everywhere in Cai's field of vision . And, the thing that looked very surprising was that these gigantic beasts seemed to be in perfect harmony with each other at the moment .
These marine beasts were right in front of the advancing fleet . And, it would take these ships less than two hours to head directly into the multitude of these fierce beasts if the speed of these ships were taken into account .
Shi Mu's complexion became unsightly as he realized this situation . He then rushed towards a room above the cabin like a flash of lightning .
He had hardly taken a couple of steps when a mighty wave rushed upon him .
A red light flashed in front of Shi Mu's body, and his Real Qi condensed into a thick layer of protective shield to protect him .
Then, a "Puff" sound was heard .
The mighty wave hit the deck of the ship, and drowned Shi Mu . The miraculous glow on the surface of the ship flashed once, but it remained intact .




Shi Mu waited for the wave to recede . After that, he ran along the passage in the direction of the five-story garret .
He arrived at the entrance to the fifth floor of the garret after some time .
Two grey-robed disciples of the Dark Moon Cult stood near the entrance to the stairway .
"Senior Shi!" the two of them greeted him in a respectful manner when they saw him there .
Shi Mu's identity had gotten exposed due to the invasion of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult . Liu An had made a declaration that Shi Mu was a well-wisher of the Dark Moon Cult . Moreover, Shi Mu had killed the young Taoist priest of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult . And, that Taoist priest was an Earth-ranked warrior . So, the matter pertaining to his astonishing strength and spirit power had long spread in the fleet . Consequently, ordinary disciples had started to hold Shi Mu in high esteem .
"Is Palace Lord Pang in there?" Shi Mu asked .
"Senior Shi, Please wait a moment . Palace Lord is in there, but let me go in and inform her first," one of the grey-robed disciples said; he stood on the left side, and looked more mature than the other man .
"You don't have to report me . I've already heard it," A sound of footsteps was heard . Then, the grey-skirted woman walked out of the room .
"Palace Lord Pang!" the two disciples expressed their greetings to her .
"Noble Friend Shi, what's the matter?" The grey-skirted woman waved her hand at the two disciples . Then, she shifted her gaze toward Shi Mu, and asked .
Shi Mu went straight to the point, and told her about the latent sea beasts; the grey-skirted woman's facial expression changed accordingly .
The two disciples that were guarding the entrance exchanged looks with each other when they heard this news . And, a look of disbelief appeared in their eyes .
The grey-skirted woman looked toward the sea in front only to see the monstrous waves surging everywhere as far as the eye could see . She couldn't see anything . Not even the slightest trace of sea beast appeared in the exploration range of her spirit sense .
"Are you sure?"
Her brows slightly creased . Then, she looked at Shi Mu, and asked .
"This matter is absolutely true . I have a bird . It's my spirit pet . His gaze can penetrate through the water, and see the depths of the sea . These monstrous sea beasts have gathered in front of the fleet . And, their goal seems to be us . So, I suggest that the fleet should immediately change its sailing direction in order to avoid any contingency . "
The grey-skirted woman's eyes flashed . Half-a-month had passed since they had started their journey, but the fleet hadn't encountered a single group of large-sized marine beasts . In other words, their voyage had been considerably smooth so far . However, they were currently in the depths of the Yellow Sea . On top of that, this was the territory of the Sea race . So, the possibility that they might be besieged by the sea beasts couldn't be ruled out .
She considered for a moment . Then, she turned her hand, and took out a small bronze bell . She then instilled her magic power into it .
The spirit patterns on the surface of the bronze bell glinted, and a crisp yet sonorous copper sound spread far and wide .
This was a warning-type magic tool which had been prepared specifically for this voyage . Its purpose was to immediately notify all the ships at the time of emergency .
The bell rang, and all twenty-two ships gradually stopped in a few minutes .
"What's the matter?"
Each ship was under the charge of a Palace Lord . And, all of them walked out their room one after another as they heard this sound . Then, they flew toward the ship where the grey-skirted woman was .
"Palace Lord Pang, what's the matter? Why did you suddenly ring the alarm bell?" A blue light landed, and a curly-haired man came into appearance . This person was Huo Qing — the Palace Lord of Dark Green Wolf Palace . However, his voice was smeared with extreme dissatisfaction .
A series of silhouettes landed on the ship one after another, and all the Palace Lords gathered on the spot in a matter of moments .
"Sister Pang, what happened?" Liu An glanced at Shi Mu, and asked . Shi Mu stood beside the grey-skirted woman at the moment .
"There is a very important matter that needs to be discussed with everyone right now," the grey-skirted woman nodded and explained .
Then, she repeated Shi Mu's words to everyone . And, she gave her own conjecture about the situation along with that .
Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard her words .
"Brother Shi, are you sure?" Liu An looked at Shi Mu, and asked .
Shi Mu nodded in response .
"I think that the Sea-race has indeed been a bit too peaceful throughout this journey . The fleet should forthwith change its direction for the sake of safety . We must move away from the dangerous sea area in front . All Palace Lords return to your respective ships, and start the arrangements at once . " Liu An nodded . He then turned around, and spoke out his decision .
Liu An had played a significant role when the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult had invaded the ancient Xixia country along with the Heavenly Demon Sect . The Eastern Dark Moon Cult would've been annihilated if it hadn't been for his ingenious plan and the arrangement of twenty-five Gigantic Vast Sea Boat . Furthermore, he had squeezed out his entire strength to resist Old Man Wu Chen on the seacoast to buy valuable time for the fleet to escape . His unparalleled contribution towards his cult had added glory to his prestige .
The risk associated with this voyage to the Western Continent was very difficult to measure . So, most of the Palace Lords had begun to consider Liu An as their leader in this regard .
It couldn't be denied that these people hadn't yet adapted to the tone that Liu An had been using to command them . However, they didn't have any objection to Liu An's arrangement right now .
After all, it's better to be safe than sorry .
"I don't think so!" a loud voice resounded at this moment .

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