The Portal of Wonderland
Chapter 499: An Ordeal

In front of Shi Mu was a casting hammer only the size of an ordinary person's thumb.

This small hammer was black and dark. It seemed to be made of a special kind of metal. It was engraved with a circle of complex and mysterious patterns, almost like a special array that radiated a unique fire aura.

"This is the token that my grandfather passed down. I have been carrying it all the time, never leaving my side even for a second." After Cui Huan put her clothes back, she handed the little casting hammer over to Shi Mu.

Shi Mu glanced at it to confirm there was no doubt that the token was genuine. The unique breath that was scattered on it was Cui Huan's strength. It was impossible to reproduce.

He immediately reached out to pick up the little casting hammer without any sign of hesitation. Upon reaching out to the casting hammer, he could smell a distinct fragrance on the girl's body.

He looked at it carefully again and discovered that the bottom of the casting hammer had the word "candle" engraved on it.

"My grandfather's surname is Leng and it is a single name. Before his death, he mentioned that the master of refining is known as Yong Zhu. It is said that whoever had the token, everyone could take possession of the weapon."

Cui Huan did not notice the change in Shi Mu's face when she spoke.

"Alright. Go to Qi Feng and the others and tell them to go to the main hall. I have something to announce," Shi Mu said.

"Understood, young master," Cui Huan nodded and hurried out.

After a cup of tea, Shi Mu arrived at the main hall. All the attendants had already gathered there.

With Qi Feng taking the lead, the others looked slightly awkward.

"Qi Feng, you have done a good job by not handing Cui Huan over," Shi Mu's eyes swept over the crowd and finally fell on Qi Feng as he spoke.

"I was waiting for an order from young master. Without the young master's order, I would never dare to arbitrarily dispose of anyone in the residence," Qi Feng quickly waved his hand and said.

"Very good! From now on, without my permission, no one is allowed to take away the attendant of this caving residence, In addition, open up a quiet room for Cui Huan tomorrow. She no longer needs to carry out any trivial tasks in the residence ever again," Shi Mu ordered.

"Yes, young master," Qi Feng and others were surprised but they immediately responded.

Some other attendants could not help but eye Cui Huan. Some with more courage immediately looked back and forth from Shi Mu to Cui Huan countless times.

Shi Mu was very clear about the conjectures of these people but he was not in the mood to explain. After the order was given, he waved his hand to indicate that everyone can now leave. He too turned back and went back into his chambers.

Halfway through his journey, a small figure in the air swooped down and skillfully landed on Shi Mu's shoulder.

"You finally know when it's time to come back," Shi Mu did not stop his pace and continued walking as he said.

"Oh wow, Shi Mu! Those people looked fierce. I was so afraid that they would shoot me down and eat me. That was why I left to look for you but funnily, you arrived before I found you." Cai whispered.

"Well, it's alright. There is no need to explain further. I don't blame you at all for being afraid because you definitely can't beat them."

"Don't you dare look down on me! I'm just as strong as you are!"

"Well, the environment isn't that bad. It's suitable for cultivation."

"Are you going to pick up some tasks now? I'm so bored and in need of some excitement."

"I still have some things to deal with. Maybe after a while…? Go take a look out in case those men came back again. If they do, tell me immediately," Shi Mu glanced at the door of the secret chamber not far away and said to Cai.

"Fine." Cai said lazily before flying off.

After closing the door of the secret chamber, Shi Mu sat down on the futon and took out the casting hammer. He gently played with it in his hand as his mind calculated hs next move. Maybe in a few days he would go look for Yong Zhu, in exchange for the weapon.

Suddenly he bowed his head and could not help but think of the roots that he had hidden in the sea.

Speaking of which, since he arrived at East-Saint, he had been busy with the trials and practicing. He had not studied for a long time now.

With that thought, Shi Mu's placed a hand on his storage ring and stored the casting hammer within it.

He immediately closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the sea.

With his spirit consciousness at sea, a small and delicate shadow of a golden stick floated as in the past.

The fine runes on the golden stick faintly glowed with a golden light. Shi Mu was no stranger to this.

Three years being in East-Saint, he had been at sea many times, always observing and testing the spirit soldiers there.

Although he had a good understanding of this object, he could also establish a certain connection with him at the spiritual level. However, for some reason, he could not locate the green-robed azure ancestor.

In the knowledge pool, Shi Mu had turned into a golden little figure, slowly walking toward the golden stick that stood in the center.

When approaching it, the golden stick man looked up and down before he suddenly changed his hands like a wheel.

Rays of spirit sense extended from the palm of his hand, wrapping around the golden stick man's shadow layer by layer.

As the silk thread wrapped more densely, the cursive lines on the surface of the golden stick also lit up. As the rhythm brightened, the golden stick man's body trembled slightly.

Shi Mu l, who had been transformed into a small figure, looked at the scene before him. There was no change in his expression. His brows wrinkled, almost in disappointment.

He had seen this several times for the past three years.

He knew that after a while, the light on the golden stick man would be completely condensed. The vibration of the golden stick man gradually stopped and everything went back to normal, like nothing had ever happened.

Shi Mu sighed and decided to leave the knowledge sea.

Right at that moment, a change suddenly occurred!

The light above the golden stick did not converge as expected but began to flow clockwise, forming a golden vortex in the center of it.

Shi Mu was surprised at what he saw in front of him.

The golden vortex swirled faster, a gray shadow emerged in the center. It seemed to have a gray mist that slowly overflowed from it and spread into the surroundings.

Shi Mu was intrigued but he did not make any moves. He felt that there was a blur in front of him. A huge attraction flowed out of the vortex and soon, his entire spirit sense had been shrouded.

He felt a whirlwind and lost all consciousness.

When he was awake again and saw everything in front of him, he was a little embarrassed.

What appeared in front of his eyes was a gray misty space surrounding him in a tumbling gray haze.

The fog did not look very strong, yet it not only blocked his sight but prevented him from releasing his spirit sense very far.

Shi Mu only remembered that he had transformed into a head spirit and he lost consciousness when he got sucked into the sky. He could not remember what happened after that.

"Is it here in the sky?" Shi Mu whispered as he climbed from the ground and looked at his hands.

At the moment of his sorrow, there was a whisper in front of him.

Shi Mu looked up and saw that the gray fog suddenly rushed and rolled up. After a while, it became a foggy wall.

On this wall, the words common to the Magnum Solis emerged and were arranged neatly.

Shi Mu was shocked and his eyes swept away.

It was known to him that he was indeed in the space in the sky, and the words in front of him were left by the azure ancestors. It recorded a gamble with someone.

According to the description of the contents, as long as the person completed the test of the azure ancestors in the sky, they could get the slogan to the second phrase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art that was hidden in the sky.

The foggy space as well as the text on the fog wall were prohibited to touch. It was obvious that certain conditions must be reached in order to possess it.

For the past three years, he had not been able to touch the ban and entered into the space. He was afraid to do as he had only completed the first phrase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

However, seeing these prohibitions at the moment made Shi Mu more confused.

According to the text, the forbidden space should dissipate immediately upon contact, regardless of whether the gambling had been completed or not.

At the moment, the forbidden space was still there, yet it could be touched.

It could be said that the person who bet with his ancestors did not enter here for some reason?

Shi Mu thought about it and felt that it was not an impossible scenario. Since the azure ancestor was the one gambling a contract with someone, why did the person not enter here?

He scratched his head trying to figure out what was going on. Either way, he did not get entangled with the matter.

In any case, that the prohibition was still intact was a good thing for him, as it gave him the opportunity to get on the second phase of the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art.

As soon as I thought I could pass the test, I could get the second turn of the nine-turn Xuan Gong. Shi Mu felt that his heart was hot and his eyes were bright.

Deep in Shi Mu's thoughts, the fog wall in front of him suddenly rolled down, as if about to collapse.

In the blink of an eye, the fog wall scattered into mist and the gray fog texts written on it disappeared.

Seeing that the fog had quickly tumbled down, it rushed directly into the wider, thick, foggy ocean behind.

The misty sea immediately boiled.

A few solid tendrils of fog, like waves, constantly tumbled and slammed in the sea of smoke. At the moment within the fog, a number of fog channels rushed out.