Elder Cultivator Novel

Anton, a great-grandfather, has lived a relatively peaceful life despite his advancing age and deteriorating health. This contentment shatters when cultivator bandits establish themselves in the region. The Order of Ninety-Nine Stars, the local guardians, prove unable to locate or stop the raiders as they systematically plunder surrounding towns. During a harsh winter, while Anton hunts away from home, the bandits attack his village, killing or enslaving his entire family. Powerless to resist them and absent when they arrive, Anton is consumed by despair and regret. He questions whether he ever possessed any real opportunity to prevent this tragedy. His failing eyesight and weakened body prevent him from even drawing his best bow. Had he been a cultivator earlier in life, perhaps he might have stood a chance, but decades have passed—most of his existence—leaving him far too old to begin such a path now.