Deep within the dense forest.
A brawny middle-aged man stood with his back against an ancient tree, confronting three Ancient Beasts.
He looked to be around forty, eight feet tall, his bronzed skin covered in scars. Every scar was a medal earned through bloody battles with Ancient Beasts. He gripped a short blade in each hand, their edges stained with dark-red beast blood.
His breathing was somewhat ragged. A claw wound deep enough to expose bone ran across his chest, blood continuously seeping from it.
The three Ancient Beasts surrounding him were the fiercest predators in this region.
To his left was an Ancient Beast shaped like a leopard, entirely black, with long limbs and hook-like claw tips. It was as swift as lightning.
To his right was an Ancient Beast shaped like a python, its body as thick as a water barrel as it coiled around a tree trunk. Its scarlet tongue flickered incessantly, snake eyes fixed firmly upon its prey.
The Ancient Beast directly ahead was the most terrifying. It was a silver-furred beast resembling a giant ape, two zhang tall, its silver fur standing on end like steel needles. Its pupils were golden, radiating a suffocating pressure.
"Damn it, why am I so unlucky? I ran into three Ancient Beasts above the Seventh Layer of the Shattering Realm, and one of them has even reached the peak of the Ninth Layer of the Shattering Realm."
The lone body cultivator's expression changed drastically.
The cultivation realms of body cultivators in the Immortal Realm, from lowest to highest, were Body Tempering, Blood-Exchange, Divine Treasury, Undying, Shattering, and Immortal.
Among them, the Blood-Exchange Realm corresponded to the Zhuqi Realm, the Divine Treasury corresponded to Innate Grandmasters, the Undying Realm corresponded to Grandmasters, the Shattering Realm corresponded to the Venerable Realm,