Distant Immortal

Verdant mountains towered majestically, crystal streams murmured below. This place, hidden deep within the Sacred Land, was so rarely visited by men that its scenery could only be described as a living poem, a painting come to life. Yet amidst this breathtaking beauty, low growls and roars of beasts occasionally shattered the harmony—sometimes fierce, sometimes deep and resonant. Each sound shook the soul, stirring the heart and blood with a force difficult to master. These were no ordinary wild creatures; each one was of considerable rank—true spirit beasts of the highest order.

Atop one secluded peak stood a lone figure. His white robes fluttered in the wind, hair and beard as snow—an unheralded, reclusive cultivator of immense power, known only as Yang Xiao. Though his name was little heard, his cultivation was profound; he had lived more than six thousand years and reached the ninth and final stage of the Golden Core. In all of the Sacred Land, throughout the entire continent of the Saint King, he stood among the very pinnacle of cultivators.

Yang Xiao gazed into the distance, lips moving as he muttered to himself, “Now, as my allotted years draw near, if I cannot break through from the ninth stage of the Golden Core to the realm of Divine Transformation and ascend to the Spirit World, then these six thousand years of cultivation will be for naught. But to break through this final stage is no simple matter. Without the most thorough preparation, merely enduring the might of the Heavenly Tribulation would be all but impossible.”

He shook his head in