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

Gu An didn't use his Divine Sense to probe the Mystic Heart Realm Cultivator in the Book Collection Hall because Divine Sense vision could not carry out Life Span Detection. Using Divine Sense would be meaningless, and if by chance the other party had cultivated some unique technique that allowed them to sense higher realm scrutiny, it could unnecessarily cause trouble.

After the return to Mystic Valley, Gu An went upstairs and then took out the map scroll and the book Xu Lu had given him.

The book was named Chronicles of the World, which recorded the general situation of various places. It contained information on all the regions marked on the map.

Gu An carefully inspected it, looking for a suitable place to make his breakthrough.

From the map, the nine dynasties together only occupied one-tenth of the continent's area; the rest was all land rampant with demons, with various mountain ranges and rivers that sounded scary by name alone, such as Demon Shadow Peak, Demon Bone Mountain Range, Human Head Ghost Forest, Falling Immortal River, and so on.

After much thought, Gu An decided to make his breakthrough in the Demon Land.

Where demons ran rampant, the Spiritual Energy was immense.

Moreover, since ancient times, there have never been the same dangers in the demon lands as are found at sea.

This map was the best proof, after all, a Supreme Elder had traveled across the entire continent.

Until nightfall, Gu An quietly set out, heading east and a bit northward.

With the map in hand, stepping with the Limitless Freedom Step, he swiftly navigated through the darkness of the night, quickly leaving the Taicang Dynasty behind.

In less than twenty steps, Gu An had crossed out of the lands of the nine dynasties and entered the Demon Land.

He felt the Demon Energy, Demonic Qi, and ghost Qi in the air double, with evil spirits lurking everywhere within his Divine Sense's range.

As far as the eye could see, the land and mountains were shrouded in thick fog, with each peak looming like a tremendous demon, vaguely visible and terribly foreboding.

Gu An sensed the presence of living beings, most of which were demons.

Occasionally, he could spot the figures of cultivators who, during the deep night, were all hiding and had set up formations to conceal themselves.

After half an Ancient Hour.

Gu An arrived at Heavenly Phoenix Mountain, a colossal mountain towering tens of thousands of feet high, with a range stretching tens of thousands of miles. Chronicles of the World noted that, in ancient times, a phoenix descended upon this mountain and gave birth to its offspring, thus it was named Heavenly Phoenix Mountain.

Heavenly Phoenix Mountain was occupied by demon creatures. The author of Chronicles of the World had encountered an attack by a Great Demon on par with the Unification Realm while passing this area.

Perhaps the Spiritual Energy in Heavenly Phoenix Mountain was not the richest, but at least it wasn't a place not to be ventured into.

Gu An's Divine Sense covered the entire Heavenly Phoenix Mountain, feeling the presence of three Great Demons of the Unification Realm, with the number of demon creatures exceeding one million, and countless more lesser demon creatures not yet transformed into spirits.

With so many demon creatures on just this one mountain, it's no wonder that the Demon Tribulation was formed.

Gu An settled in a forest midway up the mountain; he sat down under a tree and directly activated the Life Span Barrier.

Following his gaze, the forest was sparse, with Spirit Mist churning, and the grass on the ground was blown by the night wind, looking like waves, eerily stirring.

Gu An watched for a while, retracted his gaze, and then called up his Attribute Panel.

Seeing his own lifespan of 2,380,000 years, Gu An felt somewhat pained.

This breakthrough would require who knows how many failures, probably costing years of effort.

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But he had to spend it, for staying alive was most important!

Let's start with a hundred thousand years of lifespan to steady the nerves!

With a thought, Gu An immediately invested his lifespan into his cultivation.

[You've invested one hundred thousand years of your lifespan into evolving your cultivation level through training]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for four thousand years; with the Great Accomplishment of the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill, you forcefully attempted to breakthrough into the Nirvana Realm, started Tribulation Crossing, but didn't survive the Innate Five Elements Divine Thunder Tribulation, failing the crossing]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for eight thousand years; with the Great Accomplishment of the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill, you forcefully attempted to breakthrough into the Nirvana Realm, started Tribulation Crossing, but didn't survive the Innate Five Elements Divine Thunder Tribulation, failing the crossing]

...

Good grief!

Four thousand years per Tribulation Crossing attempt?

No wonder the Nirvana Realm is the first major obstacle in the Immortal Path Nine Tribulations!

Prompt after prompt quickly appeared, but Gu An's expression remained unchanged.

One hundred thousand years of lifespan gone like running water!

Let's go for another hundred thousand years!

The evolution training began once more!

Gu An's eyebrows twitched slightly.

All failures again!

Continue with another hundred thousand years!

Gu An didn't believe in curses; as he began the third hundred thousand years, his expression gradually turned grim.

All failures again!

Gu An's complexion suddenly darkened, as he invested the fourth hundred thousand years.

Failure alerts kept pricking at his mind, but fortunately, this time, he succeeded. Seeing the success prompt, the gloom in his heart was swept away, and a smile bloomed on his face.

[You practiced Energy Absorption for seventy-four thousand years; with the Great Accomplishment of the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill, you forcefully attempted to breakthrough into the Nirvana Realm, started Tribulation Crossing, survived the Innate Five Elements Divine Thunder Tribulation, succeeding in the crossing, and your cultivation level broke through to the first layer of the Nirvana Realm]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for seventy-seven thousand years; your cultivation level has risen to the second layer of the Nirvana Realm]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for eighty thousand years; your cultivation level has risen to the third layer of the Nirvana Realm]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for eighty-three thousand years; your cultivation level has risen to the fourth layer of the Nirvana Realm]

...

[You practiced Energy Absorption for ninety-eight thousand years; your cultivation level has risen to the eighth layer of the Nirvana Realm]

The eighth layer of the Nirvana Realm!

It took five thousand years to go from the seventh to the eighth layer, so Gu An immediately invested another four thousand years of lifespan, successfully reaching the ninth layer of the Nirvana Realm!

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There was no helping it, Gu An was now unaccustomed to seeing numbers other than nine within minor realms.

After reaching the ninth layer of the Nirvana Realm, he could accumulate life span peacefully again.

Boom!

The Earth Spirit Energy surged violently upwards, boring into Gu An's body, causing his robe to disintegrate instantly. He raised his eyebrows slightly, continuing to endure the violent refinement of his body by the Spiritual Energy.

Unlike his previous breakthroughs, this time, Gu An felt pain.

Nirvana involved a transformation of both body and soul, so a bit of pain was understandable.

At the same time, a flood of memories regarding the Nirvana Realm poured into his mind.

As Gu An began to devour nature's spiritual energy, the Spirit Energy of Heavenly Phoenix Mountain began to subside, and this spectacle was intense and sudden, startling all the demon creatures.

Howling winds ravaged Heavenly Phoenix Mountain, and roars and cries echoed between heaven and earth, deafening and extremely terrifying.

...

In the North Sea Mountain during the deep of night.

In the forest, a dozen Supreme Sect disciples were seated around a campfire. Zhen Qin turned to look at Sage Xuan Miao, who was meditating under a tree nearby, thought for a moment, then stood up and walked over.

"Senior, are you sure we don't need to set up a Formation?" Zhen Qin cautiously asked.

They were Disciples of Law Enforcement Hall, and when they were executing missions at the borders of the Taicang Dynasty, they were attacked by Demon Cultivators from the Ephemera Sect, all captured within a magic artifact, then taken all the way to the North Sea Mountain. It was Sage Xuan Miao's rescue that saved them from unspeakable consequences.

Sage Xuan Miao, eyes closed, calmly said, "It's fine. If any Demon Cultivators from the Ephemera Sect come, I'll just kill them."

After the ordeal with the Underworld Fox Demon, his hatred for the Ephemera Sect was immense.

He believed the Underworld Fox Demon hailed from the Ephemera Sect, or why else would it have consumed Ephemera Poison, and even informed him of an impending attack from the sect—clearly, they had been plotting against him.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Qin started to speak but stopped herself.

Wasn't this using them as bait?

Although she was perplexed, she still held back her words.

With their Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivation Level, it was difficult for them to stand on their own in the North Sea Mountain. They relied on Sage Xuan Miao's protection, and Sage Xuan Miao was not a member of the Supreme Sect and had no obligations to protect them. At this time, she couldn't afford to offend him.

Zhen Qin turned around and returned to her previous spot, continuing her meditation.

The other Disciples of Law Enforcement Hall began whispering amongst themselves, discussing the Ephemera Sect.

With the world in turmoil, the calamity sparked by the Ephemera Sect this time far exceeded the past. These Disciples of Law Enforcement Hall felt the pressure, fearing they might die in this tribulation.

"Don't worry. This region is under the protection of a Mountain God. Once my injuries have healed, I will send you back to the Taicang Dynasty."

The voice of Sage Xuan Miao reached them, prompting all disciples to look in his direction.

A male disciple asked curiously, "Mountain God? What Mountain God?"

Sage Xuan Miao answered, "Naturally, it's a mountain's Immortal God. As for its location, I will not tell you."

The group exchanged glances, feeling that Sage Xuan Miao was spouting nonsense. Could his head have been hurt in the previous encounter?

Even Zhen Qin felt that there was something wrong with Sage Xuan Miao's mind.

For a moment, the forest fell into silence.

...

Heavenly Phoenix Mountain, the forest shook like wild waves, the ground trembled slightly, Spirit Mist descended, and Demon Mist rose, giving the impression of dragon shadows surging everywhere, a spectacular scene.

Bare-bodied Gu An was seated under a tree, and after an hour of settling, he finally made his breakthrough to the Nirvana Realm!

Upon reaching the Nirvana Realm, Spiritual Power transformed into Mana, and his Primordial Spirit underwent a metamorphosis!

Gu An's Mystic Heart was already covered with runes, ready to hatch his very own Divine Skills.

He already had an idea, to create Divine Skills based on his own cultivation technique.

The speed at which he absorbed nature's spiritual energy had not decreased, and he continued doing so. There was still some time before he would reach the ninth layer of the Nirvana Realm.

He opened his eyes, frowning.

A Demon Creature was flying towards the forest he was in, a hundred miles away currently. If the demon did not change its course, it would likely breach his Life Span Barrier.

"May the heavens bless you, for if you encroach, even if we have no grudges, you'll have to die,"

Gu An silently thought, then closed his eyes again.

He did not take pleasure in the senseless slaughter, which included the demon creatures. As long as they possessed intelligence, he always felt that random killing would accumulate karma for himself.

However, if any being threatened him, he would not be merciful.

Time kept passing.

Another hour went by.

Gu An's Cultivation Level had reached the sixth layer of the Nirvana Realm, and the fierce winds around the world began to wane, not because the pace of his spiritual energy devouring had slowed but because the Spirit Energy of Heavenly Phoenix Mountain was nearly depleted. Now, his Life Span Barrier was drawing Spiritual Energy from much farther areas.

A few miles away.

On a hillside, a red figure was making its way forward.

As the Demon Mist in the sky dissipated, the bright moon emerged, and beneath the moonlight, a woman in red was moving forward. With her hair disheveled and feet bare, her gait was staggering as if she could fall at any moment.

Her long hair was messy, some strands stuck to her face by blood, only her bright, large eyes were clear to see.

Her gaze was downcast, and she looked extremely weak.

"I can't fall... I'll rest further ahead in the forest..."

The red-clothed woman murmured to herself, her vision already blurry.

In this wobbly state, she covered the distance of a few miles, which took her half an hour. When she entered the forest, she collapsed into a clump of bushes, unable to get up again.

She was less than a hundred yards from Gu An's Life Span Barrier.

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