The Portal of Wonderland

After Ma Long left, Shi Mu took the storage ring in his hand and rubbed it. Through his spirit sense, he saw more than 5,000 pieces of the most colorful and powerful spirit stone. He was overjoyed.

Through this grand championship, concealing his cultivation of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art prevented him from rising too high in the ranks. However, his harvest was not small. With these top-quality spirit stones, any reward he missed out on did not seem worthy of attention.

Shi Mu put the storage ring away as he headed back to the cave residence. The moment he lay in bed, he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

After a few days of fighting, he was drop-dead tired.

Shi Mu had been sleeping for three days straight. On the fourth day, he finally woke up and was in high spirits.

Just as he was about to leave the secret chambers, he suddenly heard Cai's voice in his mind.

"Hey Shi Mu, you're finally awake! Cui Huan has been waiting for you for almost three days now. It seems she has something important to discuss with you."

"Well alright. Tell her to wait for me in the living room."

After a while, in the living room...

"Seeing that look on your face, I assume that the entry result of your disciple trial was good," Shi Mu said as he looked at Cui Huan from head to toe.

"With the blessing of the young master, although I was unable to enter the top 36, I was successful in entering into the Holy Land of Qinglan. I've come here once again to thank you and resign from the residence," Cui Huan blushed as she said.

It should have been a happy event but her face seemed to be swept away by a sense of coldness. Such a change in her demeanor was as if she had been reincarnated.

"Great! For a former attendant of mine to become a disciple of Qinglan in my residence, it's such an honor. From this day onwards, Zhao Shenlei won't dare lay a hand on you ever again."

Cui Huan nodded as she recalled the harsh reality her family had suffered and sighed helplessly.

Both of them remained silent for a moment. After a while, Shi Mu broke the silence.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. During the trials of disciples, did you happen to go into the depths of the Holy Land's secret territory?"

Cui Huan was stunned for a while then shook her head.

"Before we entered the secret territory, the elders warned us of the danger, so I didn't go. However, I heard that some disciple did venture into its depths."

"Oh well then. Did you hear about any unusual changes in the center of the secret territory?"

"They said that other than the Xiantian-level monsters and beasts, there was nothing special about it."

"Ah, I see..." Shi Mu muttered.

"Young master, is there any problem?"

"It's nothing. I just thought about this. Also, we're now on the same level as disciples so there's no need for you to address me as young master again. Just Shi Mu is enough," Shi Mu shook his head and said.

Cui Huan smiled and accepted it.

The two chatted again, and after a while, Cui Huan officially left the residence.

After Shi Mu waited for her to leave, he immediately went to the secret chamber and took a handful of cyan-colored wooden strips. It was the wood strips taken from the Sylvan King back in the secret territory.

For a long time now, the appearance of the wooden strip had not changed in the slightest.

"What exactly is this wooden strip?" Shi Mu whispered as he condensed his spirit sense into it to have a better look.

He watched over it for a quarter of an hour. Aside from the faint scent that occasionally emanated from the strip, as well as a pure woody aura, he could not see anything else.

Shi Mu shook his head and kept the wooden strip safely.

Maybe he did not possess the vast knowledge to understand it. He would need help to identify it.

His thoughts sank a little before he stood up and walked out of the chambers.

"Hey Shi Mu, are you going out? Take me with you!" Cai flew over and perched on Shi Mu's shoulder.

Shi Mu nodded in agreement as he waved his hand to summon the Green-winged Flying Carriage and flew in the direction of the tower.

After a quarter of an hour, Shi Mu arrived at the main hall of Qinglan.

Th hall had a large area, undoubtedly several times larger than the Convention Pavilion. People came and went from time to time, making the atmosphere very lively.

A quaint stone plaque was hung in front of the temple with the words "Vast Temple of Spirit Medicine" carved on it.

"Shi Tou, you're looking to purchase some alchemical pills?" Cai asked he looked around.

Shi Mu nodded. The last of his alchemical pills had been consumed today.

Since he had been promoted as an upper disciple, he was able to witness the power of the other upper disciples through the grand championship.

Shi Mu was certainly not weak, but his cultivation was relatively low in this realm. It would be necessary for him to keep up with this vast knowledge as soon as possible.

Shi Mu stepped into the Vast Temple of Spirit Medicine. There was a lot of space, with about twenty to thirty rooms available.

The furnishings were identical to some of the medicinal shops he had seen. Large counters with various medicinal herbs were placed on them, exuding a refreshing scent.

The collection of medicinal herbs was extremely comprehensive and clearly classified. Therapeutic herbs, solid cultivation herbs, detoxification herbs, and some other types of herbs were clearly marked on the counter. This included poisons and ivy.

Behind every counter stood a male and female attendant in a green robe. There were many people in the hall browsing at the counters as the pair of attendants explained patiently with a smile on their faces.

Shi Mu had been here several times before so he was not surprised by what he said. However, it was the first time for Cai. He could not contain his excitement and was growling in a low then high-pitch voice. Shi Mu had to calm him down.

Shi Mu paused for a while before walking over to the counter selling herbs for cultivation

"Oh hello brother disciple, may I know what kind of medicine you're looking for?"

Behind the counter stood an attendant who seemed to be in his twenties. His facial features were perfect but not outstanding. The only peculiar part about him was the faint golden eyeshadow around his eyes, which added a strange vibe to his look.

There were various kinds of solid cultivation herbs sold. Forty to fifty types to be exact, which were then divided by their various properties. The characteristics of the medicinal herbs were different as well, which made Shi Mu's vision blurry.

"May I ask if there are any yang-type herbs suitable for mid-level Earth grade?" Shi Mu looked at the herbs on the counter for a while and shook his head, giving up before he looked up and asked for the attendant's assistance.

"There are eight kinds of medicinal properties that are suitable for this type of cultivation."

The attendant's eyes swept through the counter then pointed at a specific group of medicinal herbs at Shi Mu.

Shi Mu turned his gaze toward it.

Extreme Serpent Pill, Ardent Yang Pill, Sixth Primary Pill… Each medicinal herb was clearly labeled with its properties below the name.

Shi Mu had a good understanding of the medicinal herbs. As he looked through every single one of them, his brows slightly wrinkled.

Although these medicinal herbs were considered to be top-grade, they were not too different from the medicinal herbs they used to consume and did not live up to his expectations.

"Are there any better medicinal herbs here then?" Shi Mu asked.

"All of our local yang-type herbs are here. These are considered the best medicinal herbs. If you want better ones, you can only find them in the Xiantian remedies section. However, I hope you're aware that those Xiantian remedies are too strong for most Earth-grade warriors to withstand, and risks damaging their ribs," the attendant said in a somewhat sad tone.

Shi Mu frowned. These remedies were far from his ideal goal.

"Fellow brother disciple, there might be a medicinal herb here that will meet your requirements," said another round-faced youth who came over from the side.

Both Shi Mu and the attendant with eyeshadow looked at the other man.

"Brother Qin Shi," the eyeshadow youth hurriedly came forward and bowed respectfully.

"Is this true?" Shi Mu looked at the round face youth with surprise.

"Of course! I tried this herb for the past few days. Unfortunately, the potency is not enough but for an Earth-grade herb, it's more than enough and at its peak."

"Brother Qin Shi is one of the most famous masters of alchemy here. He's able to refine any Xiantian-level medicinal herbs," the attendant with eyeshadow said.

"The remedy you speak of, may I have a look at it?" Shi Mu asked.

"Of course. Please come with me," the round-faced youth said as he led Shi Mu into an empty vacant room.

"Oh, may I ask for your name?" the youth asked.

"My name is Shi Mu."

"Ah, it turns out to be brother Shi Mu. I can't say much about myself but this is the Yang Zhi Pill that I recently refined. It's made from nineteen kinds of yang materials through the Yang Primordial fire," the round-faced youth said as he took out a white jade bottle and handed it over to Shi Mu.

As soon as Shi Mu opened the lid, a faint red light and heat radiated from it.

Shi Mu's face changed slightly. Within the thumb-sized jade bottle, a fiery red herb was rolling in it like a small red flame.

He was happy. Even without pouring it out, the quality of this herb was definitely beyond his expectations.

Shi Mu immediately dumped the medicinal herbs out of the jade bottle and took a closer look at it.

"Not bad," Shi Mu nodded with delight and put the herbs back into the jade bottle.

"This pill had just been refined so it's not listed in the market yet. It's not that I'm ignorant to announce this but if I were to let everyone know, it would cause a sensation," the young man's face showed a faint smile as he said with confidence.

"Well then, what price are you willing to take for this pill then?" Shi Mu smiled and shook his jade bottle as he questioned.

"Mysterious point for each pill.." the round-faced youth showed five fingers as he said.

Shi Mu furrowed his brows. This was quite costly for a yang-attribute medicinal herb. However, if there was a sufficient supply of, it would be helpful in his cultivation of the Art of Breeding A Strong Evil Ape.

Shi Mu remained silent for a moment before asking once again.

"May I know how many you have in your possession?" 𝒇𝚛e𝘦wℯ𝑏𝓃𝑜νℯ𝒍.co𝗺

The youth's face had a visibly delighted expression. With such a question asked by Shi Mu, there seemed to be a sense of hope for him to gain a fortune from him.

"I've refined almost five hundred pills for now."

"Well, I'd like to purchase all of them," Shi Mu said categorically.

"No problem! Seeing brother Shi Mu purchase so many medicinal herbs, it seems that you're eager to progress in your training. I also have a type of herb called the Clear-Boned Purifying Pill. This pill can help increase the chance of breaking the Earth level by more than 30 percent. I wonder, is brother Shi Mu interested?" the round-faced youth said, overjoyed.

Shi Mu was intrigued.