Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses

Gu An didn't continue to push his Cultivation Level, preferring to wait until he reached the first layer of the Void Crossing Realm. He feared the time it would take to absorb Spiritual Energy would be too long, and that daybreak might come before he finished.

If the disciples discovered he wasn't in the valley, it would spell trouble.

With each notification that appeared, Gu An could distinctly feel the Earth Spirit Energy wildly surging upwards from beneath the ground.

With a boom!

Spiritual Energy rose in a wild frenzy from the ground, pulling at his robes and tangling his black hair as if trying to lift them into the air.

His body wasn't blown away, for the Spiritual Energy had already entered him, tethering him to the ground like chains.

This time, the commotion caused by devouring Spiritual Energy was far greater than his previous breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm. In fact, the ground beneath Gu An vibrated so intensely he could feel it.

He was secretly relieved he had the Life Span Barrier; otherwise, his Cultivation Level could not be concealed.

But now he found himself worrying if such a disturbance would affect the Supreme Sect.

After activating the Life Span Barrier, the Spiritual Energy wasn't conjured from nothingness, but drawn from beneath the earth—Spiritual Energy that naturally belonged to the Supreme Sect.

Gu An had a new hypothesis.

His progress in cultivation during lifespan evolution—could it be related to the richness of the surrounding Spiritual Energy?

He felt it very likely, recalling Li Xuandao, only 230 years old at the eighth layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm. It was incredible.

Upon further thought, there was a huge gap between him and Li Xuandao. If Li Xuandao also had a Heavenly Spirit Root, the advantage was incomparable to Gu An's circumstances.

As an Emperor, Li Xuandao could have the highest quality cave residences, access to the best Immortal Cultivation Elixirs of the dynasty, and surely top-tier Cultivation Techniques.

Furthermore, there were Formations, Magic Artifacts, and the like—perhaps these were also reasons why Li Xuandao succeeded in Tribulation Crossing so rapidly.

When Zuo Yijian underwent his tribulation, many cultivators swooped in to take formation positions. Others meticulously prepared for their tribulations while he simply withstood them during cultivation evolution. In reality, failing meant death with no 200-year repetition cycles.

To compare evolutionary cultivation with Li Xuandao, Gu An seemed far behind, but it wasn't a fair comparison.

In reality, Gu An was a 34-year-old at the first layer of the Void Crossing Realm!

Could Li Xuandao reach the Void Crossing Realm before the age of 300?

Was there a second person in this world who cultivated nakedly, staunchly, and withstood heavenly tribulations as he did?

Thinking this way, Gu An felt much more balanced. The lifespan invested in cultivation was merely a number, while the Cultivation Level in reality was what truly mattered!

At the same time, he wondered if he should cultivate other attribute-based techniques or perhaps find a Five Elements Skill to practice, which might further unlock the potential of his top-tier Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root.

The rumbling grew—

The sound of Earth Spirit Energy surging into his body became louder, and a cyclone formed within the barrier with five-colored Spiritual Energy nearly submerging his figure.

…

Clouds gathered, gradually obscuring the moonlight.

In a residence, within a small pavilion and beneath an oil lamp on the table, sat Zuo Yijian with white hair, holding a book from which the title "Investiture of the Gods" could be faintly discerned.

"Above, the golden light separates into five colors, and below, red lotuses chase myriad paths, with an Eight Trigrams Immortal Garment shrouded in purple qi, and a three-edged treasure sword named Qingping…" Zuo Yijian muttered, his face alight with nostalgia.

He had been immersed in "Investiture of the Gods" for several years, finding new insights with each reading. Although the book contained no Technique of Immortal Cultivation, the Immortal Sorcery described therein left him yearning.

He believed the book contained profound truths, though they remained elusive to him for the time being.

At that moment, Zuo Yijian felt something, suddenly rising to his feet with a focus that drilled into the ground.

The night was somber, the cold wind harsh.

The sound of the wind grew louder.

The oil lamp flickered violently on the table as if it would go out at any moment.

Not just him—all around, Cultivators flew out from their residences and courtyards, as more and more Outer Disciples gathered above the city.

"What's going on? The Spiritual Energy is sinking!"

"Do you feel it too?"

"Could we be under attack by Demons?"

"That's unlikely. This is the Supreme Sect. Who would dare to seek death?"

"Could it be that a large Formation is activating underground?"

The Outer Disciples debated among themselves. Ye Lan also flew out of her courtyard on her sword, looking anxiously towards the streets of the Outer Sect.

Under the dim night sky, a continuous stream of cultivators ascended, while Servant Disciples who couldn't practice the Sword Control Technique gathered on the streets, everyone panic-stricken.

Everyone could feel the Spiritual Energy sinking into the ground, an unprecedented situation that naturally induced panic.

What troubled them the most was that the rate of Spiritual Energy's descent was accelerating, thinning the concentration of Spiritual Energy within the Outer Sect.

Spiritual Energy was the lifeblood of any Great Sect, as its foundation lay in the richness of Spiritual Energy.

…

In the woods, Gu An had stepped into the Divinity Transformation Realm, and his Nascent Soul emerged from his body, floating above his head.

In the Nascent Soul Realm, one could condense a Nascent Soul, but ordinarily, it could not leave the body without severing its connection. Thus, the Nascent Soul usually only emerged when on the brink of death, to find a new body to inhabit.

The Divinity Transformation Realm allowed the Nascent Soul to evolve into a Primordial Spirit, a manifestation akin to the soul. Primordial Spirit Emergence was a unique ability of the Divinity Transformation Realm, not severing the connection with the body. Below the Divinity Transformation Realm, one could not see the Primordial Spirit unless it manifested itself.

After the Primordial Spirit emerged from the Nascent Soul, a cultivator's Divine Sense underwent a dramatic change.

Gu An was immersed in this transformation, his Nascent Soul gradually turning into a blue lotus, then blooming. His Primordial Spirit slowly stood up from within, looking identical to his physical self, even down to the appearance of his clothing.

Divinity Transformation Realm was not the end; Gu An continued to strive for an even higher realm. The Spiritual Energy he was devouring grew more and more immense, and he noticed that the forest outside the barrier began to vibrate gently.

This made him even more nervous.

The disturbance was too great!

Gu An did not dare to let his Primordial Spirit fly out of the Life Span Barrier, fearing he might encounter a Cultivator of the Divinity Transformation Realm probing the area.

The Supreme Sect surely had Cultivators of the Divinity Transformation Realm. After all, some of the powerful Elders from the Outer Sect had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, let alone those from the Inner Sect and the Main City of Sect.

He even suspected that the Supreme Sect concealed a Void Crossing Realm; otherwise, why would Li Xuandao of the Divinity Transformation Realm Eight Layers hide his Cultivation Level?

Time continued to pass.

An Ancient Hour later, Gu An's Cultivation Level had reached the ninth layer of the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Suddenly, two figures swept across the night sky. At the same moment he visually identified them, he immediately performed Life Span Detection.

Oh my!

Two Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators!

Gu An grew even more nervous, only hoping that no one would notice this patch of forest.

The Life Span Barrier could prevent others from seeing his figure, but it would be unfortunate if someone happened to pass by this exact spot.

Afterward, strong Cultivators kept sweeping across the sky above, the lowest of them at the Nascent Soul Realm.

Before long, he spotted figures of the Divinity Transformation Realm, and there was more than one!

Gu An felt as if he had pierced the heavens, especially since he was now assaulting the Void Crossing Realm, which required an even more tremendous amount of Spiritual Energy.

This night was destined to be restless.

Only when the sky had just begun to brighten did Gu An's growth in Cultivation Level finally slow down.

Void Crossing Realm, First Layer!

Upon reaching the Void Crossing Realm, one's Primordial Spirit could traverse tens of thousands of miles. Whether it be Spiritual Power, Divine Sense, Perception, or Qi-Blood, all would experience a qualitative leap in strength.

Gu An slowly stood up as the sunlight pierced through the heavens, shining all the way to the Life Span Barrier and falling upon him. Clothed in a robe of morning light, he looked toward the sunrise with a smile on his face.

The Spiritual Power within him was incredibly vast, giving him a feeling of omnipotence.

He deactivated the Life Span Barrier and then began walking towards Mystic Valley.

Merely maintaining the Life Span Barrier had consumed almost two thousand years, clearly showing how significant last night's disturbances were.

With the breakthrough completed, the world returned to normal, but the Spiritual Energy in the forest could not compare to that of the previous day.

Even Gu An, now of the Void Crossing Realm, could not estimate just how much Spiritual Energy he had absorbed last night.

On his way back, Gu An saw Great Cultivators flying in the sky. Since last night, he had seen seven Divinity Transformation Realm Great Cultivators, which made him marvel at the profound depths of the Supreme Sect's strength.

He quickly returned to Mystic Valley and then stepped out from the attic, calling the Disciples to practice their drills.

"Master, did you feel the sudden dip in Spiritual Energy last night?" Ye Yan asked, his brows furrowing as he spoke of the matter.

The other Disciples chimed in, as they too had felt it. They were quite concerned, fearing that Mystic Valley might suddenly collapse.

Gu An chuckled and said, "This is the Supreme Sect, the safest place in the Taicang Dynasty. How could it possibly collapse?"

Upon hearing this, the Disciples' worries diminished significantly.

Wuxin speculated, "It might be related to some kind of Formation. Perhaps some Great Cultivator in the Sect was breaking through, needing a vast amount of Spiritual Energy."

Clearly, he had encountered something similar in Thousand-Autumn Pavilion, but he couldn't disclose it.

"Master, why do I feel that there is something different about you today?" Zhen Qin stared at Gu An, asking curiously.

Gu An gave her a sidelong glance, saying irritably, "You always think there's something different about me every day. If you want to learn the leg techniques from me, just say it directly."

The other Disciples couldn't help but laugh, and Zhen Qin also giggled embarrassingly.

The drill practice officially began, and Gu An used the process to get accustomed to his brand-new Spiritual Power.

After practice ended, Gu An did not return to his room but instead walked towards the nearby forest.

For this breakthrough, he had depleted quite a few herbs. The harvest for the next two years would be affected, and he could only cultivate new land, expanding more gardens.

Sigh.

A Great Cultivator of the Void Crossing Realm farming herbs for you, the Supreme Sect should be content!

Gu An thought to himself gleefully as he entered the forest, and, coincidentally, another Cultivator flew overhead. This reassured the Disciples in the valley, at least affirming that the Supreme Sect was indeed paying attention to the situation and not neglecting them.

It wasn't until noon that Ye Lan returned to Mystic Valley.

After chatting for quite some time, she finally escaped the throng of Disciples and followed Gu An up to the attic.

She closed the door, then proceeded to close the windows. Not only that, but she also took out Talisman Paper and pasted it on the doors and windows.

Gu An watched her nervously and asked, "Junior Sister, what are you trying to do?"

What to do?

To follow or not to follow?

Once all the isolating measures were in place, Ye Lan finally sat down at the table. As she poured herself tea, she said, "Senior Brother, something significant has happened. The Demon Lord might be soon attacking!"

Gu An was taken aback, then sat down and asked curiously, "Who is the Demon Lord? Which Sect or faction are they from?"