The Portal of Wonderland

“Master Gong Xi is too generous. If I don’t agree now, I wouldn’t get over it,” Shi Mu said as he took the red token, checked it and nodded.

As they conversed, Shi Mu handed the Demon Pill produced by the Flaming Crown Demon Snake to the black-robed old man.

The old man held onto the Demon Pill with excitement and gratitude in his eyes.

After a time, he finally took a deep breath, looked at Shi Mu, and reached out, “Sect Fellow Shi, you have had a hard time. Please take a rest here while I excuse myself.”

“Deacon Wan, please serve Sect Fellow Shi well. From this day onwards, he will forever remain the VIP of Celestial Fire Armory,” The elderly man instructed and left hurriedly.

The middle-aged man wearing a red robe quickly promised to do as told, then turned to Shi Mu and said, “Sect Fellow Shi, please take a break first. I will escort you to have a look at the Lava Pool in the afternoon.”

“Deacon Wan, if you have time, would it be alright to take me there now?” Shi Mu asked.

“Of course, as you wish, Sect Fellow Shi,” the middle-aged man in red said as he walked out.

Shi Mu followed behind him and the two quickly left the Celestial Flame Armory and walked toward the Black Mountain Peak which situated in the center of the city.

“The Black Flamed Mountain in the city is connected by hundreds of active volcanoes in this area through the underground fire veins. It continuously supplies fire and lava to the Lava Pool in the mountain,” the middle-aged man explained as they proceeded to their destination.

“Ah, I see,” Shi Mu nodded in thought as his eyes locked onto the Black Mountain Peak.

In a few minutes, the two of them finally reached the Black Mountain Peak.

From afar, the Black Mountain Peak did not seem imposingly tall, but once they stood at the foot of the mountain, it looked magnificent. It was roughly two or three hundred feet high.

As they drew near, a rumbling sound could be heard from somewhere inside. It sounded like something was crashing within the mountain.

Shi Mu and the red-robed man kept walking until they arrived at the entrance to a large hall at the foot of the mountain.

The entrance to the main hall was heavily guarded but when the guards at the doorway saw the middle-aged man and Shi Mu, they did not hesitate to let them in.

The two passed through the hall to a dark passage.

The passage was quite long. The two continued forward for a while before passing a corner where a light shone through and the chatter of voices in discussion could be heard.

“There are more than one hundred lava Pools on Black Flamed Mountain. In principle, they belong to the city’s main government. However, the government has left one-tenth of them, while the rest are rented out through bidding since they’re the prize possessions of the Red Flame City. At the moment, nearly a fifth of the Lava Pool has been rented out by Celestial Flame Armory with the intention of turning it into a refining workshop. So this is the Lava Pool we spoke of, which has become my workroom for refining,” the middle-aged man in red explained as he showed Shi Mu around.

Shi Mu’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he wished to see it for himself. Unfortunately, the workshop was in a secret chamber where no outsiders were allowed without permission.

The two plodded onward, snaking through forks in the passage from time to time. Eventually, they came to the bottom of the passageway.

As Shi Mu looked around, a specific door caught his eye. It was a black stone door that stood a few feet tall with flashing light. It was clearly built this tall as a sign that entry was prohibited. The center of the door was engraved with the character “nineteen.”

“Brother Shi, use the token I’ve given you to unlock the seal,” the red-robed man said.

Shi Mu obeyed, taking out the red token that had been stored under his sleeves. He imbued it with his Real Qi and swayed the token in front of the stone gate.

Suddenly, a light flashed on the token and a beam of luminescence flew out and shined upon the stone gate.

The gate glowed white as soon as it came into contact with the token’s light. As the glow dissipated, the stone gate slowly opened.

Shi Mu groaned as he mustered the strength to push the stone gate open wide. Inside, a small black passage could be seen.

“The Lava Pool is just down there in the underground level,” the middle-aged man said as they walked in through the stone gate.

The two proceeded along the spiraling passage that lead underground, and before long they reached an open space.

The entire underground area was enveloped in red light. The ground and walls were reddish in color. The whole room emitted a bright red light that made it hard to open one’s eyes.

Inscribed charms formed a huge array on the ground and walls.

In the middle was a pool surrounded by eight white pillars.

Inside the pool was viscous red magma. The intense heat would cause it to bubble, and the expansion of the gas bubbles at times formed it to spray up like a fountain.

For now, the eight white pillars around the Lava Pool emanated a ray of white light that tamed the magma and kept it from erupting this way.

The whole underground space had a high concentration of fire properties, which made it extremely hot to the point that breathing would hurt the throat.

“So this is the Lava Pool. What do you think, Sect Fellow Shi?” inquired the middle-aged man.

Shi Mu looked around the underground stone room, breathing in and feeling the fire aura emerging from it. He nodded in satisfaction, “Yes! It’s better than I expected.”

“I’m glad it lives up to your expectation, Sect Fellow Shi!” the red-robed man with a big smile painted on his face.

The man in red then took a piece of white jade from his sleeve and handed it to Shi Mu.

“This jade slip details some of the rules regarding the lava pool. Please take a close look at it later as it will help you in the future,” he said.

“Deacon Wan, thank you for everything,” Shi Mu expressed his gratitude as he took the jade slip.

“If there is nothing else I can help you with, I shall take my leave now,” said the middle-aged man.

“Please be safe on your way, Deacon Wan.”

The man in red responded with a respectful bow and walked out of the room…

Shi Mu put the jade slip on his forehead while the information was absorbed into his mind. After half an hour he finally opened his eyes but he looked slightly disoriented.

He hurried to the eight pillars beside the Lava Pool. Squatting beside one of them, he tapped it twice with his hands.

The pillars opened up and a grid emerged resembling a window with a round stone trough.

The stone trough was a circular array with seven or eight Spirit Stones that sounded with vibrations.

Shi Mu shut the window and proceeded to another pillar. He opened up the other pillar and the same thing happened.

After a while, Shi Mu looked at the eight pillars again with a cloudy and uncertain expression. He rested a moment, shook his head and sighed.

From the jade slip, he learned about the Lava Pool’s forbidden formation method called the Eight-Door Spirit Gathering Array. It had a strong protective capacity and the ability to restrict its power. With the help of the formation, fire-based Real Qi could be accumulated in addition to suppressing the Lava Pool from an eruption.

However, maintaining such a powerful array consumes numerous Spirit Stones. Based on what was inscribed in the jade slip, one would have to consume approximately 80 Spirit Stones at least.

Arranging the Fire-filled Array is expensive, as is the cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. Although Shi Mu had more than enough Spirit Stones to cover the cost, it would undoubtedly dry up in a few months time.

Shi Mu stood there for a while but in the end, turned around and left the Lava Pool.

From the Black Flamed Mountain, he took a Green-Winged Flying Carriage and flew to Yu Yi’s residence.

Shi Mu looked over his shower at Cai and twitched his eyebrows a little.

Since returning from the Hundred-Thousand Volcanoes, Cai had been restless and moody. He had not spoken throughout the journey.

“Cai, are you alright? You don’t look so good. Are you sick?” Shi Mu said while lifting his shoulder to get Cai’s attention.

Cai’er’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Shi Mu and shook his head.

“Don’t tell me it’s because you inhaled the smoke at the Hundred-Thousand Volcanoes?!” Shi Mu asked all of a sudden.

“No… I’m just a little tired. A short rest should be fine,” said Cai.

Shi Mu quickly placed his finger on Cai’s forehead, passing his Real Qi into the bird’s body. As soon as Cai was cleansed of any poisoning within his body, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Let’s take a break,” Shi Mu waved his sleeves and placed Cai into them to get the rest he needed. With a snap of his fingers, the Green-Winged Flying Carriage sped toward Yu Yi’s residence.

A moment later, they arrived at Yu Yi’s residence.

“Brother Shi, you’re finally back! How was the trip to the Hundred-Thousand Volcanoes? Did everything go well?” Yu Yi excitedly came out of the courtyard while smiling at Shi Mu.

“Well, there were some accidents but in the end, I was able to retrieve the Demon Pill produced by the Flaming Crown Demon Snake. I even successfully rented a Lava Pool from the Celestial Fire Armory!” Shi Mu related happily.

“Really? That’s great! Congratulation, Brother Shi!” Yu Yi laughed while congratulating him.

Shi Mu smiled brightly as he retrieved a jade slip from under his sleeve and handed it to Yu Yi, “Brother Yu, this is a list of items I would like to purchase. You’re more familiar with the city. I was hoping you could take a look at it and tell me where I can get what I need.”

Inscribed on the jade slip was a list of items that Shi Mu needed to practice the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. There were a few fire-based Infernal Polaris Stones and various decorative items needed for the Incendiary Formation.

Yu Yi took the jade slip into his hand and looked at it thoroughly. His expression instantly became serious, “Brother Shi, the items you want to purchase are not easily found. Some of the fire-based Infernal Polaris Stones can be found near the shop at the city gate but most of what’s on the list are only available in a fire-based mine shaft in the Western He Continent. Sadly, fire-based Infernal Polaris Stones are not produced in the Hundred-Thousand Volcanoes,” said Yu Y.

As soon as Shi Mu heard this, a disappointed expression was painted across his face.

Without the Infernal Polaris Stone, the Incendiary Formation could not be arranged and performed.

“Hey Brother Shi, don’t be anxious. I probably just don’t know the right places to look. Maybe you can find all the Infernal Polaris Stones you needed at the shops in the city,” Yu Yi quickly consoled.

“I hope so…” Shi Mu sighed and said.

“As for the medicinal herbs requested by Brother Shi, I will help procure them. In three days, I’ll be back with the amount need. You can count on me!” Yu Yi said, placing his hand on his chest as assurance.

“This is my own private matter but thank you for offering your help. I apologize for troubling you. You can just tell me where I can get what I need and I’ll purchase them myself,” Shi Mu said.

“Hey Brother, don’t worry about it. As I said, this is just a small matter and there’s no need for formalities. You can trust me with this!” Yu Yi laughed.

“Well then, I’ll leave it to you!” Shi Mu nodded as he took out a small cloth bag and held it out to Yu Yi.

“There are about 30,000 Spirit Stones in it. Please use them to purchase the Infernal Polaris Stones. You can use the remaining Spirit Stones for yourself, as appreciation for your help,” Shi Mu said gratefully as he placed the cloth bag in Yu Yi’s hands.