The Portal of Wonderland

The man’s face darkened.

Not giving him a chance to do anything, the flames of the gigantic white ape’s left hand grew in size, and from their deep burning center, several white pythons of flames shot out of them.

The man in the golden robe seemed to be quite fearful of these white flame pythons—his robe was swelling with air as he backtracked frantically, while rays of golden light accumulated in his hand before they converged and formed into a golden spear.

His wrist flicked, and the weapon blurred into a densely-packed group of spear shadows like a large, blooming golden poppy easily deflecting every single white flame python, keeping them at bay despite their devastating resolve.

Both the white ape and the man in the golden robe were dizzily fast on their reflexes, without once compromising any of their brute power. It was a fact that was not lost on the very paralyzed Shi Mu, who had been watching the entire thing through the eyes of the white ape.

He admitted that it was a massive fortune to be paralyzed and taken for the ride rather than himself taking the wheel in this fight, because if he were the one who had to fight this golden-robed man… he wouldn’t last this long at all. Shi Mu’s left hand could dish out a powerful strike, but it would be akin to a single punch from a Heaven-rank powerhouse.

His opponent, however, was very likely above that already.

It was at this moment when the gigantic white ape’s eyes dazzled with gold as it opened its mouth wide.

Blarrrm!

A disc-sized flame of pure white exhaled from its mouth. It was bright and eye-catching, but nowhere near blinding, nor did it radiate any sort of heat. It was very fast—like a shooting star tearing through the fabric of the night sky—and its motion could only be seen as a flitting arch before it hit right on the pack of spear shadows around the man in the golden robe.

Tchhhhh!

The golden pack of spear shadows disintegrated instantly when met with the white flame—and it did not stop there. The white flame was now on its way to consume the man in the golden robe.

He crossed his arms before his chest, lighting up his hands with two puffs of gold lights that intersected with each other into a net.

Booom!

The white flame landed into the golden web of light, causing its middle to concave deeply. It did not manage to penetrate the web, but it exploded upon contact, spreading an unbridled shockwave along with sparks of scattering white magma to all sides.

Hit point blank by the explosive force, the man in the golden robe was shoved backwards as he spat out a bit of golden blood.

While the golden net had blocked much of the white magma, a few managed to escape through and landed on his body. A terrifying buzzing sound rang, and the robe was torn open.

The gigantic white ape let out an excited cry as it watched, hurling itself toward the enemy like a bolt of lightning. The flame in its left hand blazed and turned into a gigantic sword of white flame before swinging it at the man in the golden robe still in his backward motion in midair.

The man’s eyes flashed brightly in gold before his body burst into an explosion of dazzling rays drowning his entire figure. In a second, the man had turned into a gigantic golden sun.

A sonorous draconic roar pierced through the din from within the sun, making the earth and sky seem to shake!

Within the blinding golden light, the figure of the man in the golden robe elongated and stretched into a golden Jiao dragon of about twenty or thirty yards long—it was now about the same size as the gigantic white ape.

Its entire body was covered by a body of dazzling gilded scales. Its terrifying golden talons, reflecting a chilling glint, were several feet long, each of its claws was like a golden blade sharp enough to slice through metal as if it were butter.

On the head was a single golden horn radiating cold, chilling light while golden flames escaped from its nose.

Completing its transformation within a manner of milliseconds, the golden Jiao dragon let out an enraged roar, its body undulating from left to right while its talons extended into golden lights, and dashed toward the gigantic white ape and its white flame sword.

Booooom!

Golden talons met the sword of white flames, resulting in an explosion of gold and white spanning a square-mile of ten odd yards.

Then, within the light, two gigantic figures took a few steps back, apparently tied in brute force in their last clash.

But at the very next second, two different cries escaped from the two behemoths’ mouths once more as it heralded another direct clash.

Boommm!

Rings of white flames and golden light scattered across all sides like tidal waves. The air was filled with the rumble of thunder as lightning struck, along with some occasional blood-curdling shrieks as if the space was being torn apart.

Quaking nearby while wearing a petrified expression as they stood on the second mountain of the Black Demon Sect were a passel of elders of the sect. Among those who watched the two mammoths’ violent battle in midair was the leader of the Black Demon Sect.

Both the gigantic white ape and the golden Jiao dragon emanated a mien so petrifying that even distance could not shield them from it, causing them to involuntarily shake as their nerves rode high. The intensity of the battle had long overwhelmed any of their wildest expectations. If they were at a closer proximity, they might all have become unknown casualties already!

It was then when a clasp tore through the sky!

A dart of black light flew from the first mountain and landed before their eyes. It was Great Elder Jin Zhi.

“Grea—Great Elder!” Recognizing him, a few men instantly dashed to greet him.

In the face of such a calamity, these people had already lost all sense of grounding—but the appearance of their Great Elder was a conforming shot of familiarity in their minds.

Jin Zhi waved his hands in dismissal. “This isn’t the time for normal greeting customs!”

“Great Elder, if these two monstrosities continue their battle like that, I… I fear for our mountains…” One of the elders, eyeing the fight, raised his concern hesitantly.

“Elder Xie and Elder Feng! Take those who are not yet immobilized with you to bring those disciples who had fainted to safety,” Jin Zhi immediately ordered.

“Understood!”

A man in a purple robe and another man in a green robe immediately answered him before turning and dashing toward the horizon.

“Elderly Lin, Elder Wang, the two of you initiate every single protective measure in every part of the sect to protect our most important areas from the tremors of the battle,” Jin Zhi continued.

Another two elders gave affirmative answers before dashing away too.

Just like that, as the Great Elder issued various commands, the elders of the Black Demon Sect became busy. Fortunately, the sect had been amassing a sizeable amount of manpower over these years, so it took very little time for them to transport every single unconscious disciple to safety.

The most important areas of all thirteen mountains—such as their library—started to glow as protective charms were initiated.

The Great Elder stood on the peak of the mountain, watching the two gigantic silhouettes in midair over a distance, his eyes seemingly drowned in pensive twinkles.

“Great Elder, what are these two monstrosities? Why are they suddenly… here?” the leader of the sect strode towards him as he asked.

“I have not the slightest inkling, unfortunately. Their powers are likely to be beyond Heaven-rank… I’m afraid that I amount to nothing before them,” Jin Zhi answered, shaking his head.

“Heaven-rank?!” came the surprised cries from the leader and other elders.

To them, an Earth-rank powerhouse was enough to demand their deference—simply because throughout the peninsula, the three kingdoms and the seven sects, there was never a Heaven-rank being before.

Jin Zhi’s eyes twinkled brightly as he watched the two monstrosities, his thoughts unfathomable.

…

Suspended in midair, the gigantic white ape and golden Jiao dragon became more lethal and desperate in their tussle. Shi Mu, encased inside the white ape’s body, could only watch in horror.

The golden Jiao dragon had become a lot more powerful after its transformation. Its talons were so sharp that they rivalled any sort of high-class regalia, while its tail possessed the strength to topple a mountain. Worse of all, the single horn protruding from its forehead could shoot golden beams capable of penetrating almost anything.

The gigantic white ape itself may possess immeasurable brute force, but it had far less variety and techniques to rival the golden Jiao dragon. After a few rounds, it was at a disadvantage.

A while later, the gigantic white ape was marred by multiple wounds around its body. Fresh blood poured out of the cuts, dyeing its silver-white fur a crimson red. Even its face was filled with bruises and bloody scratches, giving the ape an even more monstrous-like appearance.

Boooom!

The golden Jiao dragon’s talon attacks had forced the white ape to step back, when suddenly its gargantuan tail swiped from a side at blurring speed toward the ape like a bolt out of nowhere. Unable to block what it did not anticipate, the white ape’s body was struck right there and then, and the force of the blow instantly sent it backwards over several yards away.

It tumbled in the air for a few rounds before it could finally find its footing again, with a new bloody gash on its body.

The air was almost instantly filled with a blur of gold as the Jiao dragon lunged at its enemy menacingly, its eyes shining brightly in gold while it exhaled a large flood of golden flames.

The white ape let out a thunderous roar, the flames in its left hand echoing its cry in a blaze. Then a club of white flames appeared in its hand.

The white ape swung horizontally and the white-flame club turned into a group of afterimages, all of them as large as the mountains, to meet the incoming golden flame attack.

The flames collapsed, leaving only streams of golden magma.

At the very next second, a pair of large golden talons broke through the air toward the white ape’s head.

The white ape’s eyes flashed with malignance. It lifted its arms in an attempt to strike a blow at the golden Jiao dragon’s head—it seemed to be going for a mutually-damaged approach!

Bang!

The club did not land on the golden Jiao dragon’s head, as instead, it was blocked by a pair of draconic talons.

In terms of brute force, the white ape was very much superior to the golden Jiao dragon; The white flames along the body of the club blazed intensely into a burst of flames before exploding away!

Boom vroom!

The golden Jiao dragon was sent away flying for over ten odd yards. Its talons were scorched black, a few of them broken as golden blood oozed out from the gash.

In a game of chicken, the one who swerved essentially yielded their victory to the other. As the golden Jiao dragon turned towards a defensive tact during their dead match, the white ape gained ground!

“Auuucchh! Auccch!”

The gigantic white ape pounded its chest excitedly, its body once again glowing with silver light. It suddenly turned its gaze to the blazing sun hanging in the sky.

Hum…

A strange pulse radiated from the white ape’s body as bolts of white light splashed downwards from the sun like rain before turning into the mirage of the sun and flying into the white ape’s mouth.

The white ape’s silver aura was now joined by another faint glow. The bleeding stopped while the gashes vibrated quickly—within the span of a few seconds, they were all healed.

“It’s… It’s the Sun-Swallowing Art!” Shi Mu’s heart pounded as he watched from within the ape’s body.

He had seen it used so many times in his dreams and had been using the dreams as a method to train with it. It’s just that compared to the massive amount of solar quintessence the white ape was able to amass in such a short span of time, the amount of quintessence Shi Mu’s own Sun-Swallowing Art practice in his dream was not even a fraction of a modicum of the former’s amount!