The outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains.
Yi Yang stepped onto the soft humus of the mountain forest. Even with that light step, his foot sank half an inch.
The air in the forest mingled the smell of rotting vegetation with the earthy tang of soil. Towering trees blotted out the sky and sun, cutting the sunlight into tiny flecks that fell across his gray cloak.
Yi Yang now looked like an elderly herb gatherer in his seventies.
After gaining an initial grasp of the Thousand Illusions Mask cultivation art, he had changed not only his face but also his aura, disguising it as that of someone at true astral realm completion.
In the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, that strength was neither high nor low.
It was enough to make petty thieves who failed to recognize danger think twice, yet not so powerful that it would attract unnecessary attention.
He had been in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains for nearly an hour. Following the markings on his map, he was now making his way unhurriedly toward the valley where the Golden-Silk Sunflower grew.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A rustling came from the bushes ahead and to his left, accompanied by heavy breathing.
A black wild boar as large as a water buffalo crashed out of the woods.
Its entire body was covered in glossy black bristles, each standing on end like a steel needle. Two tusks half a foot long curled out beside its mouth, with scraps of some unknown beast's flesh still hanging from them.
Unless Yi Yang was mistaken, this was a Black-Mane Steel Boar, a fairly common demon beast.
Yet this particular Black-Mane Steel Boar was actually at true astral realm completion.
The creature had thick hide and flesh, steel sinews and iron bones.