The Portal of Wonderland

Chapter 117 - Between Xiantian Saints

Chapter 117 - Between Xiantian Saints

This beautiful girl was the Devil Witch of Tianyin, whom Shi Mu had lost his heart to at first sight. An interval of several years between their two encounters, there had not been one day passed that Shi Mu did not miss her bitterly. Different from Ke Er, whom he felt he could talk to and share a warm friendship in the hardships of war, this nymphish girl made his chest ache. She just dropped from the clouds again this time, showing herself before his very eyes, like an unworldly dream, making his heart beat as wildly as could be imagined.

“The Ice Ruler! No, wait, it’s only an imitation!” The ruler in the girl’s hand struck the black-cloaked man’s eyes, his face contorted in terror. But a second glance eased him much; he exclaimed triumphantly, shaking his head.

“If I haven’t come to the wrong person, you should be Zong Yuan of the barbarian’s Cold Moon tribe.” The Devil With of Tianyin cast him a frosty look, her lips curling up in a scornful smile.

“That’s right, I am Zong Yuan. So who are you, hussy? What’s your business with me, with that imitation?” He gave an arrogant sneer.

The girl giggled, showing not the slightest intention of answering him, while her eyes swept over Shi Mu, who was not far off, and then she gave a gentle wave of her hand and white cloud floated towards them from the woods, sleeping on it was a girl in white, who was exactly the girl named Qi.

“So, that was your doing?” The Devil Witch asked in a casual voice, cocking her head, as if taking the matter lightly. The girl named Qi was evidently in a coma at this moment, her mouth smudged with blood, and her face was deathly pale.

“So what?” Zong Yuan did not beat around the bush but admitted frankly, with even a slight hint of proudness in his voice.

The stunning girl opposite him giggled again. Suddenly, the smile vanished from her jade-like face, though her melodious laughter was still drifting in the air, a murderous hatred had also filled that very air. The next moment, her wrist flicked, and the glow of the Ice Ruler in her hand grew much brighter. An overwhelming coldness filled the air.

Then came a series of air-piercing noises. A dozen white ice sticks appeared without warning, darting towards Zong Yuan, and they had neared him in a blink of an eye. The barbarian Xiantian saint smiled, full of contempt, and simultaneously struck at the ice sticks with his palm. The glove he was wearing immediately gave a stronger blue light, and a huge image of his palm appeared in mid air, crushing the ice sticks to crumbs. But before he took back his hand, the shrill sounds rang out again, accompanied by another bombard of ice sticks. At the same time, the Ice Ruler twinkled unceasingly, shooting out more ice sticks coming Zong Yuan’s way, who swept the sticks away with his fist and feet easily. Such an attack came in several rounds during the following time, leaving Zong Yuan barely enough time for a respite, but equally causing him no harm at all.

Then, bored by the humdrum attack, Zong Yuan complained impatiently, “Humph, bitch, I’d pay you more attention if that ruler was the real one. Don’t expect me to be afraid of a mere imitation!”

The final round of the ice sticks had come to an end, and the Ice ruler had, at some unknown time, left the Devil Witch’s hand, and was now hovering above her head. She totally ignored her enemy’s words, and started to bend her fingers, striking an odd posture.

“Ice Soul, go!”

Suddenly, the ringing sounds of ice breaking all over the ground threw Zong Yuan into utter confusion, and large patches of white fog formed from the ice crumbs on the ground, gradually wrapping the hopeless man up, forming a globe of fog. The man’s face paled, and he desperately stomped, trying to bolt out of the globe. But it appeared that, no matter how he tried to evade it, the fog just would not let him go, enveloping him obstinately. His attacks ended completely in vain, and each strike would disappear into thin air after penetrating the fog.

“Real Qi turning into spirits? How is that possible!” Zong Yuan shouted in despair, though he still refused to believe what he had seen.

“Ice Dungeon!” The Devil Witch called out, as if taking no notice of the black-robed man’s struggle. Her fingers kept changing postures to launch the attacks, and finally she clasped her hands, and that was when the final move came.

With a loud cracking sound, the white fog surrounding the man froze immediately, turning into thousands of white round crystals that together sealed the man in the globe. the black-robed man was inside was struggling with his limbs, like a fly trapped in amber.

The girl relaxed, her eyelids drooping, a sheen of sweat gleaming on her nose. Evidently, applying this secret art had consumed a great deal of her strength. As for Shi Mu, who had been lying crippled, unable to move an inch, he was completely amazed, hardly able to close his mouth. His thoughts and emotions in a total turmoil. For one thing, with his current cultivation, most of the battle had been a blur to him, but he had by now gained a clear-cut impression of how fights between Xiantian saints went, which would benefit him tremendously in his training afterwards. But for another, watching his beloved girl fighting had made his chest heave in pain. And now looking at her bare feet, he could not move his eyes away. The oath he had made years before still rang in his heart, and years later, he would still pay his life to realize it.

The first time they met, “the Devil Witch of Tianyin” was a name unheard, a fair maiden from heaven. Whereas he himself, a nameless youth, creeping on the earth. The distance between them looked so insurmountable. Now that they had met the second time, the girl’s position in his heart had not changed for the slightest, and she remained that heavenly maiden beyond reach. But the distance had shortened. He felt he could look at her in a way that was more intimate, and the gleam of her hair was less far off. Being a Houtian warrior of the middle stage, he had made much progress, nearer to the goal set by her that he should reach Xiantian level before turning thirty.

“How dare you look at me in that way! If you don’t stop I will gouge your eyes out!” Feeling the intent looks at her back, the Devil Witch turned around, warning with a cold face.

“You said that last time too. But it took me so many years and so much hardship to see you again, so even if you’d gouge my eyes out, I’ll still be beholding you for the rest of my life.” Struggling to prop himself against a tree, Shi Mu’s face creased into a smile that was not as embarrassed as his usual ones, but one involuntarily conveying warm indulgence that one would treat a beloved child with. But his talking and movement had reawakened the wounds all over his body, and they now gushed trickles of blood. Blood trickled from his mouth as well.

“You are...” Hearing the words, the girl’s face softened, a trace of doubt creeping around her lips. She gave a close look at Shi Mu again, knitting her delicate eyebrows.

“So you’ve forgotten me, haven’t you? My name is Shi Mu. Back then, in the woods out of Feng City, in the Heavenly Qi Country, I made the vow to marry you!” Shi Mu was, by now, sitting in a pool of blood, but the smile on his face remained.

The Devil Witch’s body jerked, her countenance changed. “It’s you!”

“Yes. So you’ve finally remembered. Every day these past few years, the words you said that day have been ringing in my ears. “Shi Mu’s face lit up, and his eyes glinted affectionately.

“So you are in the union now? One of the sects’ disciple?” The Devil Witch bit her lips in surprise.

“Shi Mu is now an official disciple of the Black Demon Sect, and though his cultivation still falls far behind you, he’s reached the middle stage of Houtian level, and not far from being a Xiantian warrior...Also, he’s passed the appraisal test for Adepts and has registered as an Adept scholar. He’s doing really well in magic. All in all, He’ll absolutely reach Xiantian level before thirty, by when he’ll set out for Wanlong Mountain and propose to you! He promises!” Shi Mu thought loudly, speaking to her in a blissful mood, though due to excessive loss of blood, his face now looked like that of a dead man’s.

Facing a most queer and bold guy, the Devil Witch was struck speechless. For a good while she stood dumb on the same spot, her sensual mouth slightly ajar out of shock. All the time Shi Mu rested his eyes on her beautiful face, reluctant to move them for a second, for fear that he would lose sight of her again. Who knows when will the next meeting be?

“Sh...Shut up! Say those nonsense to anyone else but me!” The girl was made nonplussed, stammering in embarrassment, blushing: a sight that only added to her an irresistible loveliness! Shi Mu gazed at this Devil Witch in her shy moment, and could not help but smiling more softly, his heart melting. He wanted to pick himself up, but failed, almost falling flat on the earth with his face down. Every piece of his bone was broken.

But just as he was to reach the ground, a cloud emerged, supporting him.

“Are you all right?” The slender figure flashed to his side, and the Devil Witch asked with some concern.

“Are you worrying about me? I...I’m so glad...” But before he finished his words, a fit of violent cough came over him, and blood gushed out from his mouth.

“Shut your mouth, and..your eyes too. You are not allowed to look at me. “ The Devil Witch said, her voice soft but commanding.

Shi Mu obeyed with a contented smile.

A cold, soft hand pressed on his chest, followed by an equally cold real qi, which entered and circulated quickly in his body before slowly seeping into his veins. Shi Mu’s muscles relaxed, the gnawing pain which had made them tighten retiring bit by bit.

“You’ve been injured by the palm and all your sinews and bones are broken. It won’t be easy to make a full recovery.” Removing her hand, the Devil Witch’s voice returned to its normal calmness.

“Is there not any hope?” Shi Mu opened his eyes and sank into a brooding melancholy.

“There is a way, but it will be torturous. If you don’t have guts, you will lose your life, not to mention your bones.” She answered, a gleam in her eyes, not without a hint of encouragement.

“I have to do it. I’ll definitely make it. I still have a long way to go... a girl to marry...”

The Devil Witch blushed, hearing the bold words, and gave Shi Mu an angry stare. Shi Mu returned a wry smile, stopping halfway. He looked over the girl’s shoulder at the ice globe, reminded her, gently but forcibly, “Setting aside my issue, you’d better make sure this barbarian Xiantian saint has been killed. I just saw some blue light on his body.”

“What?!” The girl’s color changed, and hastily she turned back.

Just then, the black-robed barbarian in the globe suddenly glowed with bright blue lights, and in front of his body floated a blue image of a tiger’s face. He opened his mouth shouting something, but the voice was muffled by the ice. Shi Mu and the girl could only see blue rings rippling out in all directions, and in a minute the ice globe had broken with numerous cracks!

Peng! The black-robed man collapsed onto the earth with a terribly pale face. He quickly struggled to his feet while casting the Devil Witch a fearful glance, and then stretched his arms, darting to the distance like a mighty black eagle. The girl aimed for a blow, the Ice Rule in her hand brightening. But the tiger image over the man’s shoulder suddenly opened its mouth to spout a blue light column that shot towards her like lightning. The Devil Witch jumped aside alertly, and simultaneously waved the ruler. A white light glittered, forming a wall of ice in front of her shielding the blow away. With a crack the ice wall crumbled, and the blue light column also disappeared, along with it the black-robed man’s figure. The Devil Witch raised a sardonic brow, not in the mood of pursuing him any longer.