The Portal of Wonderland

Shi Mu, Qi Feng the and others were busy for the past seven or eight days trying to deal with the arrangements of the new spirit land.

Shi Mu's new cave residence was located near the largest part of the ignition of the spirit waterfall. There was a cave residence below the spirit waterfall. The space was quite large and there were more than ten stone chambers inside. It was the residence of the former owner. In a way, it saved him the trouble of constructing a new place.

In a secret room of the cave residence, Shi Mu sat cross-legged on a futon.

After a long time, he opened his eyes and looked up. He had to shake his head.

Although the cave residence was large, it was cold and clear and he could not help thinking of Cai.

If Cai was around, he would not have felt so lonely.

He shook his head and put the idea away as he began planning his next move.

Once all the management had settled down, he had two plans in mind.

It would be possible for him to find out where the treasure of the white azure ape ancestors was located. The faster he got his hands on it, the better. He would be able to ensure that the third phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art could be successfully cultivated.

Secondly, he had perfected his Art of Breeding A Strong Evil Ape, so he was able to advance to Heaven-rank training as soon as possible.

The millennial disciples on the second floor were mostly of Heaven rank. Many had sacrificed their own magical weapons in order to achieve what they craved, whereas Shi Mu was the only one still in the late stage of cultivation. The gap between them was quite stark.

Shi Mu silently mentally thought everything through and took out a piece of cyan jade.

It was a map of the Xuanjie region which he bought for a high price. With this. He was able to study the terrain and other aspects of the space area.

Just as he was about to observe the map left by the white azure ape ancestor in order to look for the treasure, a loud voice came from outside.

"Brother Shi, are you in there? I'm here to visit you!"

The rumbling sound came in as if someone used some sort of magical power that allowed them to directly infiltrate the barrier that Shi Mu had placed. The entire residence shook slightly over the loud noise.

Shi Mu's brow furrowed. For someone to make such a move, this did not seem to be anyone good.

His eyes flashed and he quickly went out with a stern expression.

Outside the spirit waterfall, stood three figures in midair. Their bodies exuded a huge aura and every single one of them was of Heaven rank.

Among the three figures, the one on the left was a dark-skinned young man with two coral horns on his forehead. The horns showed a flaming color that emitted a faint glow. Apparently, he was of the demon race.

On the right was a young man who looked like a scholar. He was pale, almost sickly.

However, Shi Mu could feel that this person had a huge amount of qi fluctuations. He was likely a Sun-ranked sorcerer but still in his early stages.

A Sun-ranked sorcerer was equivalent to a Heaven-ranked warrior but it was quite rare to see one on the second floor of the Holy Land of Qinglan.

The dark-skinned youth was also in his early stages of Heaven-ranked cultivation. The big man in gray robes who stood in the middle was far superior to those on his sides. This man was already in his mid-stage of Heaven rank.

The man was nine feet tall and had a muscular body. The level he stood was distinct, like an iron tower. He exuded a strong aura. It was obvious that he had refined his cultivation.

When the three figures encountered Shi Mu, their eyes converged on him. Their aura and their huge amount of qi gave Shi Mu an oppressive feeling.

The void trembled, and the shock caused the large waterfall nearby to splash around.

"To have the three of you here today, I, Shi Mu am honored. Please come in and speak."

Shi Mu's expression was flat, and a thick layer of red light appeared around his body.

Like a stone pillar, he stood firmly between the fluctuations of Heaven and Earth, not allowing the three men to oppress him with their qi and aura.

The expressions on their faces showed that they had not expected this.

"Oh, you passed the Enchanted Road that guaranteed you a millennium disciple now. That hasn't happened here for centuries. You sure got the skills," the big man laughed and retracted his qi. 𝒇𝗿𝙚ℯ𝑤ℯ𝑏𝒏𝑜ѵe𝙡.c𝐨ｍ

The other two followed and lowered down their qi. The three of them were still in midair but their eyes were locked on Shi Mu. It seemed that they had no intention of entering his residence.

"What purpose do the three of you have for coming here? Make it clear," Shi Mu said.

The three men glanced at each other with a strange smile on their faces. 𝘧𝓇𝒆𝗲𝓌𝙚𝙗𝓷o𝘷𝒆𝘭.𝐜𝚘𝒎

Shi Mu saw this. Though his face was as calm as ever his thoughts turned and ran wild.

"I came here today to challenge you," the big man said.

"Challenge..." Shi Mu's eyes flashed.

Before he came here, he had obtained a book regarding the millennial disciples. This book wrote down the rules of the millennial disciples including some other precautions. Among the rules was that there were provisions for disciples to challenge each other.

Between the millennial disciples, they can challenge each other and learn from the other and those who had been challenged had to face the fight.

This stipulation of the Holy Land of Qinglan was intended to allow any millennium disciples to be further tempered in their training. In addition, this would spark ideals for survival in a disciple when they were caught in a battle.

Of course, there were certain rules for the challenge. Each disciple can only challenge the other up to three times in a year and the same person can only be challenged three times.

For every challenge, both parties would be able to pawn items as rewards such as spirit stones, medicinal herbs, and even the spirit waterfall.

"Will brother Shi Mu take on the challenge then? You are the only genius disciple who was able to advance to a millennial disciple through the Enchanted Road. I came here today to honor the name given to you," the big man attempted to stir up Shi Mu's emotions as he was afraid he might back out and refuse his challenge.

"Oh, since the three of you are interested, who am I to reject the challenge? However, I wonder what kind of items are you willing to bet?" Shi Mu looked at the three of them a ray of light flashed in his eyes.

"It's only natural to make the challenge more interesting by placing some bets. It's common for disciples in the Xuanjie region to challenge each other. Most of them would bet their spirit waterfall. So brother Shi Mu, are you willing?" the huge man asked with a tentative tone.

"To bet a spirit waterfall… Alright. We shall gamble with the spirit waterfall then!" Shi Mu quickly agreed.

Seeing Shi Mu had agreed to their terms and the challenge, the three men suddenly showed a hint of happiness.

In fact, the three of them were considered the lower disciples among all millennium disciples. After one year of challenge, they had lost almost all their spirit waterfalls. They only had one or two left in their possession. Seeing Shi Mu was still in his early stage of cultivation, they could not let go of the opportunity to challenge him for his waterfall.

The heart of those who broke through the Enchanted Road is necessarily stronger than an average person. After all, the main purpose of the challenge is to hone one's strength.

"Since brother Shi Mu has promised, that settles it! This challenge will begin when the sun is down today. What do you think about that?" the big man asked.

"I agree to it," Shi Mu nodded.

"Brother Shi Mu is indeed a refreshing person. I know of a spacious place nearby. It would be suitable for our fight. Follow me, brother Shi Mu, I'll bring you there for a look," the big man said as he turned and flew off. The other two quickly followed behind.

This being the Xuanjie region, Shi Mu was not afraid of any possible schemes these three could have. With the Qi Cloud Technique activated, he flew in the direction where the three men had gone.

At a nearby waterfall, Qi Feng listened to the conversation. Seeing the four of them leave together, he could not help but worry a bit.

Shi Mu had just arrived and he had already been challenged by disciples who were clearly at Heaven rank. They were different from the century-old disciples.

With Shi Mu's now-glowing reputation, it would be bad news if he was defeated, or worse, killed. It was only to be expected that his attendants worried for his safety.

After all, these people were all in their innate Heaven rank. As a servant of a millennium disciple, they were too weak to save their master if things went south.

If they were servants of other millennial disciples, they would likely be driven out of the Xuanjie region and the thought of becoming a century disciple would never happen.

"Young Master, you can't be defeated..." Qi Feng murmured.

All four of them quickly flew out of Shi Mu's spirit land and arrived at a spacious and flat canyon.

Among the canyons, a young man with a clear white face was seen standing with his hands crossed, as if he was waiting for someone to arrive.

"Brother Shi Mu, this is brother Xu Yuan. Like us, he is also a millennium disciple. I invited brother Xu Yuan today to be the witness to our battle," the big man said.

The young man with a clear white face looked over at the big man and said nothing, but his expression was extremely cold.

"Thank you for your help, brother Xu Yuan," Shi Mu bowed respectfully at the white-skinned young man.

"Oh, you're the infamous Shi Mu?" Xu Yuan's expression changed greatly as he looked at Shi Mu full of curiosity.

"Indeed I am."

"It was said that millennial disciples can challenge each other, but for a new advanced millennium disciple, there is a ten-year challenge-free period. During this period, you are able to refuse challenges requested upon you. Did you not read the manual carefully?"

"Oh, I don't think I noticed that. Thank you for reminding me, brother Xu Yuan."

Shi Mu was stunned knowing he really did not notice such information in the manual. The indifference he felt over Xu Yuan soon decreased as he seemed to have taken a better liking on him.

The three men heard this and their hearts sank.

"Brother Shi Mu, you already promised to a challenge today. You can't go back on your word," the big man said.

"Hehe… It's true that I promised, so I won't break it. Well then, who among the three of you would like to go first?"

Shi Mu nodded to Xu Yuan to show his gratitude then shifted his gaze back at the three men.

"If that's the case, my name is Lu Qing and I'd like to challenge Shi Mu first. I will place six spirit waterfalls for this challenge."

Before the black-skinned youth could take the lead, Lu Jing fell in front of Shi Mu from a distance as he took out a cyan jade board with a string of numbers on it.

With a wave of his hand, the cyan jade plate fell on a large stone beside the white-skinned youth.

However, all the spirit waterfalls that had been developed would be evaluated by the Holy Land of Qinglan based on the degree of qi and aura it exuded, making it easier to manage.

In general, most of the waterfalls were inferior, but within a hundred miles, only a few were of medium grade. There were hardly any top-grade spirit waterfalls.

The nine waterfalls under Shi Mu's name had their own numbers as well. In addition to the rare top-grade spirit waterfall, the rest were all inferior.

"Lu Qing, if I remember correctly, you only have two spirit waterfalls in your name in the spirit land? Those two that were under your name were of low grade. How are you gonna bet on six medium-grade waterfalls then?" Xu Yuan suddenly asked.