White Stone City.
It was an ordinary city near one of the seven life forbidden zones.
There was nothing special about the city. It had attracted many cultivators from elsewhere only because it was close to the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land.
Sparse sunlight spilled between the leaves, casting glittering rays that fell in mottled patches across the ground, forming one shaft of light after another.
Several youngsters clustered beneath the shade of a tree, trying to enter the first realm of cultivation and sharing their insights.
Pleasant cicada calls rang out amid the youngsters' voices, neither irritating nor tiresome.
Suddenly, one youngster drawing in spiritual energy seemed to notice something. He gave a soft exclamation, his gaze settling on the distant street.
"A-Xin, what are you looking at?"
The young man named A-Xin stared blankly at the distant street corner. After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Do you think someone's appearance can really stay unchanged for ten years?"
His companion paused in surprise, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Generally speaking, no one in the mortal world can do that, but the Cultivation World is another matter. My father once said that some powerful cultivators can keep their appearance unchanged for hundreds of years, and even grow young again! But cultivators like that almost never come here!"
A-Xin frowned at those words. "Then what if someone like that really appeared in White Stone City?"
"Every faction would treat them as an honored guest, giving them fine food and drink every day."
"But what if they weren't treated as an honored guest?"
"What kind of joke are you making?"
His companions rolled their eyes, then followed his gaze. At a corner of the street stood a young man who looked a little older than them.
He was a blond youth.