Outside the defining line was where Zen stood, with a scenery that was full of vigorous plants and life
but inside was covered with black gravels; the two opposing sides could be compared to heaven and
hell.
In his fascination, he did not second guess to approach the other side. However, unexpectedly, two
people appeared right in front of Zen.
They appeared to look like beggars who wore clothes that were torn and ragged.
When the two men looked at him, Zen began to feel an indescribable pain; the kind of pain that made
Zen feel like he was being punctured by needles.
Zen had a feeling that the two were very strong. In fact, he thought that they might be stronger than
Randall and that they could be compared with the people like Floyd, the Flying Dragon General.
"Are you going to the Hell Mountain, boy?" The two men stood on the demarcation line as they asked
Zen.
"Yes, I am. Who are you?" asked Zen
"We are the guards of the Hell Mountain. You said you were going to Hell Mountain. Since this is the
case, we would like to know if you know the rules," the mountain keeper wondered. The guards looked
like they meant Zen no harm, but it was difficult not to feel uncomfortable around them. They curiously
observed Zen who they deemed as a man who was at a low refining level. The mountain keepers
thought to themselves, 'Very few people at such a level would come here.'
"It takes a hundred points to get in, doesn't it?" Zen asked. Before the keepers could answer, Zen
already had his disciple's card out, pointing out that he was fit to enter the mountain the guards were
safekeeping.
One of the guards took the card and poured his orange-red life vitality onto it. After he had deducted a
hundred points, the mountain keeper told Zen, "Going to Hell Mountain is not just a simple matter of a
hundred points loss. Once you go over this line right here, you will lose all protection coming from the
Cloud Sect. You will be on your own, and if you are killed, the Cloud Sect will have no accountability
over your grave. Judging from your current state, it is dangerous for you to cross the line."
The Hell Mountain was as the guards said it was; a chaotic place wherein no life was spared. No man
who entered the domain was safe, let alone protected.
There was a reason why people referred to it as The Hell Mountain.
Many people feared being imprisoned in the wicked mountain. A lot of people would prefer to be
punished than to be exiled and entrusted to the people that resided Hell Mountain.
That was because the people who were in Hell Mountain were notorious criminals who were sent to the
mountain by the Cloud Sect to be punished for their heinous deeds.
There were no rules in the Hell Mountain. The world within it was an absolute jungle that left every man
for himself.
There was no way out for the weak except being trampled on by people stronger than they were.
The politics within Hell Mountain was known for its corruption, with stronger people that had stronger
influences doing whatever they wanted to, leaving those who were weak to fend for themselves if not
used as slaves.
Talented disciples from Cloud Sect would wander into Hell Mountain on purpose in order to increase
their strength, turning the mountain into their own training field.
The guards did not have to ask twice; in their eyes, Zen was merely at marrow refining level and was
ignorant to the fact that there were cruel things in the mountain that he would not see anywhere else.
They were worried that it would not take long for the man to be killed within the confines of Hell
Mountain.
"Thank you for your precautions. I understand well and clear what I am getting myself into. However, I
really do wish to cross this line," Zen said firmly and confidently. His eyes wandered around the
mountain as if he were looking for a place to stay in, but little did the guards know that he was trying to
determine where his sister could be.
The guards, realizing that Zen would not back down, stopped trying to talk the man out of it. They
returned his card and made way for Zen to step in.
Zen appreciated the notion done by the guards and stepped in. There was no turning back anymore.
After walking what seemed like a mile, Zen finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.
In front of him was a very steep path and on both sides of the path, there would be red embers glowing
at intervals as if the rocks were coals that burnt relentlessly.
Without much thought, Zen began to climb.
The Hell Mountain was an active volcano that spit fire and emitted smoke. Whatever they told about the
mountain was not tale.
There were several scattered valleys that could be seen from the mountainside.
Some of those valleys were covered in ash while the other valleys were magma-infested.
Zen had already encountered many people from the Cloud Sect who were exiled for punishment in Hell
Mountain.
The people who he crossed paths with were not mere weaklings. In fact, these people were powerful
and strong.
Some of them had already become the nature creatures.
Judging by their imposing manner and their respective structures, some of the people were even
stronger than Randall.
Most of them could care less and had nothing to say about Zen passing by.
However, there were still people whose eyes lingered unkindly at Zen's presence. Some of them would
even follow Zen, threatening his survival.
Observing that not a lot of people in Hell Mountain were very accommodating, he took his broken flying
knife out of his space ring and kept it in his hand the whole time he wandered around the mountain,
with hope to find his sister with both of them alive.
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