Zhelan ignored Yi Meng and the other men's curious gazes on him and entered the tent. Albeit small, it was still comfortable and warm, and most importantly, he could isolate himself from the world and do whatever he wanted without facing any questioning eyes.

Xie Zhelan was never a patient man. He had always been impulsive and most of the time, his capricious nature had almost landed him in trouble. If he was the previous Zhelan who had been at the peak of his cultivation level, he would not have hesitated to venture into the dark and find out about the rumbles himself. But now, he could only suppress his impatience and try to find the answers using other methods.

Zhelan opened the book which he had gone through the previous day. "I hope you have the answers I am looking for." He mumbled lightly and started reading it, slowly and carefully.

At first, he was intrigued and curious. But as time passed, Zhelan's heart sank and his expression turned miserable. The book had nothing noteworthy and was particularly boring. It was all about Mount Dao and its history. It did not mention how the mountain was and its terrain, much to Zhelan's dismay.

But he did not give up. Zhelan continued reading, taking in all the unwanted information about the mountain peak, from how far it was from the habitual world to how steep and glorifying it was. But there was nothing that told him about how Mount Dao could help him cultivate or get his Qi back, or even how dangerous the place was and how he could avoid the threats and reach the top. Heck, he did not even know what to look out for during the journey.

Zhelan gnashed his teeth and kicked his leg in the air, annoyed with everything, especially himself. He glanced at the book in his hand and had the impulse to tear the pages.

'What trash is this! Why would Tian Ma give me this book?' He complained silently and glared at it as though the book would catch fire instantly.

There was one last page left and even though Zhelan was unwilling, he took deep breaths and turned the page only to be stunned. There were just a few words on the whole page. But those few words were enough to alarm him and send his thoughts running.

Beware of One.. Two.. Three.. Four.. Five on your way to Mount Dao for they decide your future.

Zhelan stared at the few words for a long time until he was dizzy and his eyes turned hazy. He shook his head and raised his brows. Although he was exhausted after walking for a long time, his eyes were still filled with vigor.

But now, he was only bewildered and he could not comprehend what he was seeing.

'One, two, three, four, five? What do they mean and why should I be careful of them?' He wondered and tried to recall if he had read anything related to the numbers in the book on the previous pages. But there was nothing.

'As far as I recall, there is no mention of these numbers anywhere in the book before. What do they mean?' He mused, his brows furrowing deeply. His expression turned serious and solemn in an instant. 'Are they referring to the five rumbles I heard just now?'

Barely had the notion settled in his mind, he tilted his head and shook it in denial. 'If that were the case, then the book could have only warned me about the number five. What do the other numbers represent?'

Zhelan was in turmoil and his head was filled with all sorts of thoughts and caprices. But he could not come to any conclusion. The situation was too mysterious and he did not have anything else with him to find out what he was encountering. He even flipped the other book, but it was utterly blank just like before and he eventually gave up.

Again, the thought of Tian Ma giving him a blank book annoyed him greatly. But he could do nothing about it.

'Let me see this book again. I might find something that...' Zhelan's mind went blank when he picked the first book and flipped to the first page. Unlike the two times before, when he had seen the page filled with information about the formidable mountain, this time, there was nothing. The page was blank, void of any information.

"What happened here?" Zhelan's eyes widened in shock and the faint impatience he had in them previously was replaced by confusion. He flipped all the pages in the book hurriedly and to his astonishment, all the pages that previously were filled with black ink had become blank.

'Was the book written with disappearing ink?' Zhelan was not averse to such a scenario. He had had his fair share of such instances when he was at Idora. But to think that someone had used it on such a useless book, he could not apprehend the reason behind it.

'Disappearing ink...' Zhelan pursed his lips and looked at the book on his lap. 'This matter is more enigmatic than I thought. This is just the first day and...' He mumbled to himself as he packed his bundle of treasures. In just one day, they had met bandits and they had even heard rumbles that shook the ground below their feet. Would the situation not be more perilous as they moved closer to Mount Dao?

Zhelan's arrogance crumbled and all he was left with was fear, apprehension and desire. Even though he was nervous considering the predicament he was in, he was still filled with a strange passion and it only increased when he thought about what lay at the end. His desire to conquer Mount Dao increased all the more and he was filled with rejuvenated energy.

'If I can regain all that I have lost, then...' His eyes sparkled with determination as he clutched the only weapon he had with him tight. 'Everything will be worth it.'