The Portal of Wonderland - Chapter 281

Chapter 281: Outwits
There were five black-winged gryphons in the sky . They were hovering against the wind with their wings outstretched .




Each of these gryphons was twenty-or-thirty feet in size . The sharp claws of their hind legs and their torso bore a resemblance to that of a lion's . However, their head, front claws, and wings looked like that of an eagle's . The black feathers on their body appeared to be very thick and sturdy… as if they were made of cast iron . And, their seemingly incisive eyes were suffused with a glowing red radiance .
However, the thing that seemed particularly unusual was that each gryphon wore a black helmet on top of its head . A blood-red crystal stone that was almost the size of a clenched fist was embedded in the middle of those helmets .
The crystal stones appeared unusually smooth . They were giving off a faint blood-red radiance . The surface of the crystals seemed to be like that of a mirror, and it seemed as it was reflecting everything below it .
Furthermore, the formidable aura that these five gryphons were emitting signified that these birds had reached the Xian Tian realm . The expression in their eyes was limpid . It looked distinct from that of ordinary demon beats . It seemed from their expression that they didn't possess low intelligence .
Suddenly, a glimmer of blood-red light flashed in the helmet of one of the bigger gryphons among them . That gryphon seemed to have received some orders since it opened its mouth soon after . Then, it issued a hoarse and unpleasant cry .
The other gryphons in the vicinity also responded with a cry as they heard this noise .
The five gryphons dispersed after they had communicated with each other . And, they flew in different directions . One of them happened to pass through the sky over the mountain peak on which Shi Mu was hiding .
Shi Mu's face gleamed with exultation as he saw this . He waved his hand, and took out the Sky Splitting Bow .
Then, the Sky Splitting Bow began to expand with a flash of green light . In fact, it had expanded to half the size of a man in an instant .
Shi Mu then flipped his hand, and took out three Wind Chasing Arrows . After that, he nocked the arrow . Simultaneously, he mumbled something, and three white chains emerged before his eyes . Then, these chains wound around the Wind Chasing arrows .
The black-winged gryphon in the air felt a sudden jolt in its heart . The instincts of that savage beast made it feel a trace of shudder… In fact, it seemed as if it had felt that it was being closely watched by someone .
It was about to examine the surrounding area when a black silhouette suddenly appeared in the vicinity . That silhouette swooped from the side at an insanely high speed .
The gryphon saw that it was a parrot with multi-colored feathers . There were two feathers on the top of that parrot's head— one white and one red . Those two feathers were unusually striking .
"Quack quack, big fellow, you are just a lowly servant of the Heavenly Demon Sect . But, you still dare to flagrantly roam around in our sacred Xixia country . I'm the noble 'guardian spirit bird' of the Dark Moon Cult . The Dark Lord has sent me to annihilate you!" the parrot issued a series of shouts .
A flash of red radiance burst out of the parrot's body after he had completed his speech . After that, he opened his mouth, and spurted out a small mass of flames; it was aimed at the black-winged gryphon .
The black-winged gryphon indeed possessed some intelligence . However, its wisdom hadn't grown to the extent where it could be compared with that of a human's . Therefore, it didn't seem to understand the meaning of the parrot's discourse .
The gryphon instead shot a contemptuous look at Cai when it realized that the might of the flames was feeble to an unreasonable limit . In fact, these flames might even fail to lit-up timber…




The gryphon waved its wings, and a strong wind swept out . It extinguished the little flame, and rolled out toward the clamorous parrot .
But then, a sharp whistling sound rang out in the air… as if something was piercing through the air .
It was the sound of the three green arrows which were shot at an incredibly high speed . They looked like three green lightning bolts . It appeared as if they had taken the shape of a character . They had reached to only a few feet away from the gryphon's body within the blink of an eye . They were targeting the chest and wings of the gryphon .
Moreover, there was a person's silhouette underneath the arrow . The silhouette was supported by a white Qi cloud . It approached the gryphon at an astonishing speed .
The black-winged gryphon got alarmed . It waved its wings, and swiftly changed its direction . Then, it changed its movement from a forward flight to a dive . Consequently, the three green arrows brushed past its body, and failed to hit their target .
Shi Mu stood on the white Qi cloud below . The corners of his mouth curled into an arc as he pointed out his finger .
Three white chains darted out of the arrow the moment they brushed past the gryphon's body . Then, they wrapped around the gryphon in a convenient manner… as if they were under someone's control .
The black-winged gryphon exuded a loud scream as if it had gotten struck by an overwhelming fear . Its body emanated a mass of splendid black luminescence . This radiance then condensed into a layer of black protective screen on the surface of its body .
The three white chains wiggled to tighten their grip, but they were blocked by the black light screen for some time .
However, the flight of the gryphon had been greatly affected by these chains . So, the gryphon slid, and started to fall downwards as a result .
Whiz whiz whiz!
Seven or eight washbasin-sized fireballs emerged beside Shi Mu's body the next moment . They then started to spin . Then, they dashed toward the gryphon while issuing shrill ear-piercing sound .
Simultaneously, Shi Mu bent his bow, and nocked the arrows once again .
Three green arrows were projected once gain . However, they intended to hit the gryphon this time . They dashed toward the gryphon while streaking three green traces in the air .
The gryphon was thunderstruck since it knew that it couldn't fly properly at the moment . It also knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge the arrows because of this . . .
Therefore, it stretched-open its mouth, and puffed out a mass of scorching black flames . The black flames congealed, and turned into a beam . Then, the beam of flames knocked against the approaching seven or eight fireballs all at once .
A burst of chaotic rumbling sound rang out in the air as the fireballs changed into billowing hot waves, and dissipated in the air . But, the black column of fire was also defeated and dispersed .




Meanwhile, the three green arrows darted like a meteor, and struck the black light shield that was wrapped around the gryphon's body .
Bang! The black light shield got blown to smithereens the next moment!
After that, the white chains tightened their grip, and firmly bound one of the wings of the gryphon .

The huge body of the gryphon was no better than a stone without one of its wings since it needed both of its wings to balance its body . Consequently, it started to fall downwards with an overwhelming momentum .
Shi Mu's face beamed with happiness . He wielded one of his hands, and a streak of golden light burst out . It then coiled around the black winged gryphon's falling body the next moment .
Then, a burst of blood-red light flashed!
The huge head of the black-winged gryphon got separated from its body, and flew out .
Then, Shi Mu waved his hand to recall the golden sword as the gryphon's body fell down to the ground .
Quack Quack!
Several other black-winged gryphons had also sensed this situation since they weren't very far . So, they had flown back under the leadership of a leader gryphon .
However, these gryphons were too late to lend a hand even though they had flown back at an extremely fast speed . And, it had happened because Shi Mu's whole hunting process was very natural and unforced . In fact, this brief battle had taken only three or four breaths from the beginning to the end .
Those gryphons hovered in midair for some time, but they didn't dive to attack Shi Mu .
Shi Mu landed on the ground . A mischievous smile spread across his face as he threw a glance at the hovering gryphons . Then, he turned around and walked over to the gryphon's corpse that lay not far from him .
. . . . . .
Two nights later…
In the Heavenly Wu Arms Shop that was situated on the West Kuang Street in the eastern district of Quyang City . . .
"He he, I hadn't expected Dear Friend Mu's skills to be so advanced . You obtained an entire black-winged gryphon in such a short period of time," Xu Lu looked at Shi Mu, and said with a smile as they sat in the reception area .




"I request Master Xu to take care of the rest of the things . I will come back to collect the tools after ten days," Shi Mu stood up and stated while cupping his hands in a respectful manner .
. . . . . .
Half an hour later… in a certain room… in the guest house building .
Shi Mu looked at the scattered pile of goods, and stroked his chin . The trace of a thoughtful look could be seen on his face at this moment .
These goods were the things that he had assembled in the storage ring .
The greater part of these goods was either various kinds of ores or some demon beast's materials . Basically, these were the relics of the obese Taoist man of the Transcending Heaven Immortal Cult who he had encountered before .
Shi Mu had noticed that he had been left with only one-thousand or so spirit stones after he had made the payment for refining his black blade and stick . Therefore, he had decided to sort out the things in his hand . He wanted to replace some of the items that he wouldn't use with spirit stones .
Suddenly, a burst of black smoke bubbled-up in the room out of nowhere . Then, Yan Luo's silhouette gradually came into sight .
Its whole body was covered with a white armor like before . In fact, even its head was covered with armor . Its body looked to be completely sealed-up except for the two clusters of purple soul flames in its eyes .
Shi Mu was dumbfounded to see Yan Luo standing before him . Yan Luo lifted one of its hands, and extended a green flower toward Shi Mu before he could speak anything . At the same time, the delightful and melodious voice of a young girl resounded in Shi Mu's head, "Lend me your stick . "
"I don't have that stick right now . I have given it to a blacksmith for refining . It will take around ten days to get it back . So, why don't you come again and pick it up at that time?" Shi Mu looked at the green flower, and a trace of happiness surged in his heart . So, he explained everything to Yan Luo with the help of his spirit sense .
"Okay," Yan Luo replied .
"How about you give this flower to me in advance? Is that possible?" Shi Mu asked in a tentative manner .
"Okay," the soul flame in Yan Luo's eyes flashed as it replied .
Shi Mu had barely held out his hand and received the green flower when Yan Luo suddenly found something . Its body flashed, and it appeared close to the pile of goods the next moment .
Then, it bent down and picked up a blood-red order token from the pile; it was faintly emanating blood-red radiance . It was the Dark Moon Order token that Shi Mu had obtained from Deacon Quan of Pi City .
"Can you lend me this thing . . . " Yan Luo looked at that order token over and over again . Then, it said to Shi Mu with the help of its spirit sense .
"There is no problem in giving it to you . " Shi Mu didn't wait for Yan Luo to complete its words, and gave it a reply through his spirit sense .
The soul flame in Yan Luo's eyes throbbed . It looked at Shi Mu, but didn't say anything again . It then received the blood-red token in its storage ring with a flash of grey Qi .
Then, its whole body got enveloped by a mass of black smoke, and it disappeared into the void .
Shi Mu gazed at the remaining plumes of black smoke as they gradually dissipated . Then, he shook his head .
He couldn't understand why some memories kept floating in his mind; such as the memories of those nights when he was on his way back to the Black Demon Sect . He had made Yan Luo accompany him to practice in those nights . In addition, the memories of the time when he was in the Black Demon Sect's cave mansion also floated in his mind . He had blurted out everything that was on the back of his mind in front of Yan Luo at that time .
Yan Luo's intelligence had been very low in the beginning… so much so that it had only been able to express simple things . But, it had been much closer to Shi Mu at that time than it was now .
Shi Mu had learnt a lot of things about the Soul magicians of the Dark Moon Cult from his experiences over these days . So, he was very much aware of the processes used by the Soul magicians to strengthen their spirit pets . He had also heard somewhere that it could easily take more than ten years to promote the strength of the Dead Spirit creature by a small realm . Moreover, Yan Luo had only been an ordinary martial warrior in the beginning . However, it had ascended to an unimaginable level in less than ten years .
The crucial point was that Shi Mu had never taken the initiative to care about Yan Luo's practice from the beginning to this day . Yan Luo had relied entirely on itself to achieve such an incredible strength .
Shi Mu was very curious to know the reason behind this . But, he knew deep in his heart that Yan Luo would never tell him anything .
"I don't know whether the promotion of Yan Luo's strength is a blessing or a misfortune . " Shi Mu mumbled to himself in a self-ridiculing manner .
He then decided to cast this thought aside for the time being . After that, he received the green flower in the Vast Earth Ring . Then, he got back to tidying up the things that were scattered in the room .
Some time passed . Shi Mu had stored the stuff that he was prepared to sell in the golden ring, and the stuff that he still found useful in his Vast Earth Ring .
He sat down on his wooden bed after he had wrapped up this task .
Then, he drew out the green flower, and plucked a petal off it in a careful manner . The petal crumbled, and changed into a mass of cold and gloomy green vapor . The green vapor then coiled around his right hand, and started to seep into his body in a slow manner . . .
Half an hour passed . A strong magic power wave suddenly burst forth from Shi Mu's body, and took the shape of an invisible magic-power whirlpool around his body .
The magic power whirlpool submerged into his body after some time… as if it were a long whale . Shi Mu then opened his eyes, and a gleam of happiness glittered across his face .
He sensed that the magic power within his body had escalated by leaps and bounds once again after he had absorbed the entire green flower . Also, he had made a breakthrough from the twelfth stage of the Art of Accumulating Spirit Power, and had stepped into the thirteenth stage like he had always wished .
Moreover, the shadow of a third star had brightened in the cluster of cloud inside his sea of consciousness .

Note : Please download the sponsor's game to support us!