By the Lake
Beside a lake whose surface glittered with ripples, fish leaped from the water now and then. A gentle breeze drifted over from afar.
At this nameless lakeside, several people stood in the distance with fishing nets in hand, ready to cast them at any moment. Even in the Immortal Realm, the native inhabitants of many places had strength that reached the Mahayana Realm. Year-round nourishment from immortal spiritual energy meant that even without cultivation, those with stronger constitutions could reach the strength of an early-stage Integrated Body body cultivator. Those with the strength of Spirit Transformation or the Divine Void Realm were everywhere. The starting point for cultivation across the Immortal Realm was countless times higher than in the worlds where Lu Xiaotian had once lived.
Though the native inhabitants of the Immortal Realm were strong, the insects, fish, birds, and beasts that grew up there naturally had a higher starting point too.
The natives who knew nothing of cultivation or divine abilities relied on their powerful bodies and weapons or tools of their own making to hunt and catch fish.
Even cultivators who were somewhat stronger and could fly through the air were severely restricted by the dangers that periodically swept through the skies. When there wasn't much difference in strength, even cultivators who could fly remained in considerable danger if faced with a large number of natives wielding bows and arrows or hurling weapons. And if they ran into someone who, though untrained, had extraordinary talent and some kind of spiritual physique—an outlier whose untrained physical attacks could reach the Mahayana Realm, or even the realm of immortals—one careless mistake could leave them badly wounded or even dead on the spot. Such cases had happened in the Immortal Realm.
In short, the vast world held