Zhelan stood in front of the two paths that followed two different destinations. While the road on the right led him to Mount Dao, the one on the left led to his world, the world he was actually from where his family and friends were living.

A frown marred his face when he remembered them. At first, he had not given much thought to them for he was coping with his situation. However, after meeting Liu Yang, he was utterly disappointed. The entire world of cultivators knew what had happened to him and in what situation he was in, but none among his family, the one he considered himself to be close did not visit him even once.

Zhelan was infuriated, disappointed and filled with resentment. Many times, he had thought of returning to his world. But he was unwilling to see gazes of ridicule at him. He had always been the one who derided others and looked down upon them. His pride and power made him arrogant and despise everyone who was not even as accomplished as he was.

But now, all his pride was shattered and he was left with nothing. In such a state, he was disinclined to face the people he had once satirized and now, after being abandoned by his own family, he was even more reluctant to return to his world.

Zhelan glared hard at the path that led him back to his family, his eyes filled with abhorrence. Silently, he made a vow to only return home when he got back all that he had lost. Since he had got a chance, he made him up his mind to revive himself from the dead and reach the peak as he had done once. Moreover, he had another aim in mind.

'I am going to destroy the man responsible for my pathetic state.' He gnashed his teeth and looked at the sky. 'You better prepare yourself for your doom.'

Glancing one last time at the human world far behind him, he set off on his journey as he carried the small bundle on his back, with the ends tied securely to his waist. The bundle was a treasure to him and he had to guard it well if he wanted to stay alive. He only had himself to protect and rely upon.

The guards of Utira had only accompanied him to the outskirts of the kingdom and had dropped him off at the path that led to Mount Dao. Now, everything was upon Zhelan alone.

Showing no expressions on his face, Zhelan continued towards his journey. Mount Dao was not a new place to him. He had seen it from his mansion back home, the majestic peak looking as amazing and impressive as ever.

However, he had never thought of climbing it, it was of no use to him. He already had everything he needed to attain his goals. So, he had never cared about the mountain peak, other than admiring it sometimes.

But now....Zhelan let out a sigh and shook his head.

The road was not deserted. There were quite a few people walking on it and Zhelan let out a smile filled with mirth on seeing their enthusiastic expressions.

'Fools.' He sneered. 'Did they think they could become like us just by climbing the mountain?' He thought, his eyes filled with scorn. 'Nevertheless, they call Mount Dao the mountain of blood. With these many humans offering themselves as a sacrifice, the mountain is bound to be colored by blood.'

Zhelan's eyes gleamed with wickedness when he saw the large number of people ahead of him. 'If only I had not lost my cultivation levels, I could have used these ignorant humans to attain what I could not previously.' He clicked his tongue and tightened his hold on his cloth bag. 'How annoying!!'

He was not surprised to see them there. Humans were curious creatures and even more so when they became greedy. Since reaching the peak of Mount Dao could gain them the powers they always wanted, it was no wonder that they were willing to take the risk and put their lives at stake. But what were the chances of reaching a peak?

That was an answer even Zhelan did not know. And he did not care. Even though he had become a human like them, he was filled with confidence and courage and had a goal in mind. He was filled with motivation, unlike them who only had greed and desire.

Zhelan kept ambling as he maintained his eyes on the noisy group ahead of him. No carts or carriages traveled on that path, it was too narrow and rock-strewn for any of it travel on. He had no desire to join them, anyway their presence did not matter to him much.

However, that could not be said the same about the young men ahead of him. They had not missed his presence and after hesitating for quite some time, they halted in their places as they waited for him to reach them.

"Looks like we have another one here, wishing to become a cultivator." One of the men, who seemed to be the leader, stated and the others let out a laugh, the reason to which Zhelan could not understand.

The group of people was just a waste of his time. So, he did not stop to bicker with them, much to their surprise. However, that did not stop them from following him right away and surrounding him, forcing him to stop.

Zhelan frowned and looked at the man who stood right in front of him. "Step out of my way." He tried to stay calm and not lash out at them. But the man did not see his annoyance and stood firm in his place.

"How dare you disrespect me? Do you not know who I am?" The young man questioned with arrogance and Zhelan took a good look at him.

'As expected. A rich brat.' He scoffed in his mind. The young man was dressed to the nines and it was not difficult to guess his identity as the son of a rich man.

"No, I do not. Get out of my way." Zhelan did not wait and pushed the man before he started walking again, much to the man's disbelief.

"You.." The man narrowed his eyes and shouted at his lackeys. "Capture him. How dare he be arrogant before me!"

Zhelan was not worried. He had already connived a plan to tackle them, one that would have them knocking at the gates of hell for sure.

Before the men could get to him, he turned around suddenly. "Are you sure you want to capture me?"

He questioned, his lips arching up into a smirk. "Do you not want to reach the peak at all? Do you wish to seek death mid-way?" His words intrigued the group greatly, especially the young rich man.

"From your actions, shall I presume that you are here for the first time?" Zhelan had heard the men speak some time ago and they had not even kept their voices low. So, he used this knowledge to his advantage to suppress them.

"And it might be your last too if you are not careful. You might not even return home alive if you are not vigilant and prepared." Zhelan continued. It was the truth though.

After observing the group, he had already understood that they had come unprepared for their journey. The ignorant faces almost made him laugh.

"What do you mean?" The man, who seemed to be the leader of the group immediately questioned him back, his face now filled with traces of fear.

'As expected.' Zhelan smiled widely. "If you listen to me, I might help you gain what you want."

"How..."

"I was guided by a great cultivator and I know tricks and ways to survive here." Zhelan spouted nonsense, his face giving away nothing and the group fell for it immediately. Also, he still had a formidable aura, which made the group believe him right away.

"Then...then..." The leader pushed everyone away and stood in front of Zhelan, his eyes sparkling with hope. "Could you guide us too?"

"That would be difficult." Zhelan maintained an aloof expression and gave the man a condescending look and watched him going into despair. "But I will try."

Immediately, the man's expression changed and his face bloomed in happiness. "Thank you, Master. Thank you so much."

"But I have certain conditions you must follow. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to abandon you all midway." Zhelan threatened and the man shook his head right away.

"We are willing to do anything you say, Master. I guarantee you that no one will object to it." The man promised without thinking just as Zhelan wanted.

"Good. I only have two conditions. You must listen to me and stay vigilant at all times. We never know when danger will attack us."

"Do not worry, Master. We will keep an eye around us. I promise we will never allow danger to befall you."

Zhelan nodded in appreciation and patted the man's shoulder lightly, happily accepting the sacrifice he and his group of people would be making in the future.

'Fool. That is what I wanted and that is why I decided against my will and joined you. Now, you will help me ward off the danger on Mount Dao while I will reach my goal.'