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

As Gu An was relishing the increase in his Cultivation Level, the Spiritual Energy of the North Sea Mountain once again descended, this time bringing with it fierce winds, as if a storm was about to arrive.

Demons, Cultivators, and Ghosts all hid away, waiting for this descent of Spiritual Energy to end.

They were unclear about what exactly had happened and could only pray for the catastrophe to end soon.

Deep within a certain valley, Li Xuandao had already begun his Tribulation Crossing.

A cluster of thunderclouds hovered above the valley, not maintaining the same altitude as the thunderclouds in the sky, instead only slightly higher than the surrounding mountain peaks.

This mass of tribulation clouds was accumulating divine might, strands of lightning churning within, intermittently visible, a sight that was startling and awe-inspiring.

Li Xuandao was on the Array Platform cultivating energy, with golden dragon shadows circling around him, causing his robes to flutter and make noises.

After a while.

Li Xuandao suddenly opened his eyes and looked up sharply, just in time to see a bolt of heavenly lightning strike down from the tribulation clouds.

Boom!

The outer Formation formed a light barrier to block this bolt of heavenly lightning. Before the light could dissipate, a second and third bolt struck down in quick succession, lighting up the valley with a continuous interplay of light and shadow.

Li Xuandao raised his hand, and a treasured sword appeared in it. As soon as the sword was drawn, it let out dragon cries on its own, with the blade shrouded in strands of blood qi, as if thousands of evil ghosts were roaring and wailing within it.

He planted the treasured sword beside him, then closed his eyes and continued to cast spells with both hands. Spiritual Power flowed through the Array Platform into the Formation in all directions.

Block after block of Spirit Stones flew out from his Storage Bag, densely covering the empty spaces on the Array Platform.

With his eyes closed, Gu An opened his mouth, and one Spirit Pill after another flew out from their bottles, automatically entering his mouth, causing his momentum to rise dramatically.

The night sky was swept by strong winds, with the thunder rumbling faintly. From high above, the valley seemed so insignificant, nestled in the dark, endless expanse of the North Sea Mountain, like a dimly lit star in the night sky.

...

Time flowed swiftly by.

After an Ancient Hour of sedimentation, Gu An finally reached the first layer of the Mystic Heart Realm and now began to aim for the Mystic Heart Realm's Nine Layers.

Upon reaching Mystic Heart Realm, his heart underwent a transformation, sparkling with golden light and circulating golden blood. On the surface of his heart, a rune even appeared, mysterious like some kind of imprint.

Gu An reveled in the nourishment of Spiritual Energy while feeling the rune on his heart.

In the depths of his mind, he gained some enlightenment.

Primordial Divine Power!

The Mystic Heart Rune could nurture a Divine Power unique to oneself, although the time it required to do so and its intensity were unknown.

What kind of Divine Power might be nurtured depended on the experiences and achievements of the Cultivator in his lifetime, with each person's resulting Divine Power being different.

Gu An was captivated by this fortune and could not extricate himself. Through the Mystic Heart Rune, he began to have new thoughts about his many Daoist Sorceries, starting to sort through the results of his cultivation.

Meanwhile, his Cultivation Realm continued to make breakthroughs.

Mystic Heart Realm Second Layer! -read-first

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Mystic Heart Realm Third Layer!

Mystic Heart Realm Fourth Layer!

Gu An suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze turning toward the forest canopy.

He saw a streak of lightning appear above the forest under the night sky; it did not descend from the heavens but materialized out of thin air and did not vanish in a flash but instead twisted wildly in the air, like a struggling long worm.

What was that?

Gu An frowned, feeling somewhat uneasy.

The streak of lightning began to split, generating several bolts of lightning. Following that, the space between the lightning bolts abruptly tore open, revealing a black fissure.

A figure with disheveled hair leaped out. Under the illumination of the lightning, her fair skin was exposed; judging from her figure, she was a woman, barely draped with tattered cloth that failed to conceal her modesty, clearly indicating that her robe had shredded not long before.

Gu An sensed the stranger's aura and was inwardly shocked, immediately casting a Life Span Detection.

[Lu Lingjun (Unification Realm Nine Layers): 1989/2750/3700]

A nearly two thousand-year-old monstrosity!

This was definitely the oldest person Gu An had ever encountered!

And with a Cultivation Level of Unification Realm Nine Layers, she was already on par with Lv Baitian!

Who was this person?

Lu Lingjun stood suspended in the air, the black fissure behind her closing rapidly and disappearing along with the lightning bolts.

She took out a set of blue Daoist robes from her Storage Ring and covered her exquisite figure. Then she retrieved a belt and wrapped it around her waist.

Gu An could no longer afford to worry about the proprieties of male and female differences; he just wanted to know the origins of this woman.

Lu Lingjun's long hair fluttered in the wind, revealing a face so delicate and perfect, yet her brow was slightly furrowed, her eyes full of confusion.

A single strand of her hair fell loose and then transformed into a white snake that settled on her shoulder.

Gu An cast Life Span Detection again:

[White Spirit Demon Emperor (Unification Realm Eight Layers): 4678/6280/8300]

A Unification Realm Demon Pet?

Just who was this woman?

The White Spirit Demon Emperor flicked its forked tongue and let out a light and graceful female voice: "Such rich Spiritual Energy; it seems we have ascended successfully, the legends are not false!"

Ascend... Ascension?

Gu An froze, the weight of these two words overwhelming.

Lu Lingjun's eyebrows were tightly knitted, and she murmured, "The might of the heavenly thunder during the traversal was truly terrifying; I nearly met my end. I flew towards the weakest direction of the thunder and thus arrived in this realm.

Judging from the richness of the Spiritual Energy, it is indeed more abundant than our mortal world, but whether the ascension is successful, we still need to travel more."

The White Spirit Demon Emperor looked into the distance, saying, "The Spiritual Energy here is descending, and there is Unification Realm Demon Energy in the distance, clearly a sign of a successful ascension. We roamed the mortal world for two hundred years, traveling across the ends of the earth.

There are only me in the Demon Clan at the Unification Realm and no more than five individuals in the Human Race. Only the legendary Great Heaven and Earth could have Unification Realms at every turn."

Great Heaven and Earth?

Gu An's curiosity grew upon hearing this, feeling even more intrigued.

It seemed that these two individuals came from a world weaker than this one.

This world is so vast that no one knows its full extent. The Nine Dynasties are but a corner of this continent; what lies beyond the ocean, no one knows. At least Gu An did not believe that reaching the Unification Realm could represent the pinnacle of this continent, let alone the highest realm achievable in this world.

The Immortals are but legends, ethereal and elusive, yet the world of Immortal Cultivation is vast indeed.

In addition to marveling at the enormity of the world, Gu An also felt a sigh of relief.

He had feared that some great power might descend upon the Nine Dynasties. In that case, the ninth layer of the Mystic Heart Realm would seem inadequate.

This pair, a man and a demon, had ascended without any support or background. It would probably take some time for them to integrate into this world.

Lu Lingjun and the White Spirit Demon Emperor were unaware of anyone below them. They spread their Divine Sense to confirm that there were no humans or demons within five hundred miles. Only then did they dare to converse without any guard.

After chatting for a while, they flew toward the south.

They felt that the south was brimming with the vital energy of the human race, while the north was heavy with demon energy.

This is bad.

I hope they don't head for the Supreme Sect.

Gu An silently prayed.

From their conversation, Gu An suspected that their successful ascension was aided by the Life Span Barrier.

A Life Span Barrier that can avoid heavenly tribulations would naturally weaken the thunder, which could also explain why, after breaking through space, their landing spot happened to be right above Gu An.

Gu An was filled with many emotions.

There were still Ascenders in the world, and anyone who could fight their way out of one world must be a formidable character. With their methods, they could probably continue to reign supreme.

No!

The ninth layer of the Mystic Heart Realm is unstable!

Let the enhancement of Divine Skills be delayed, reach the Mahayana Realm first!

Even for ones like Lu Lingjun and the White Spirit Demon Emperor, with their terrifying abilities, it surely can't be possible to reach the Mahayana Realm in just a hundred years, right?

Gu An immediately brought up his Attribute Panel.

Although the increase of his Cultivation Level had not yet ended, he was ready to start spending generously.

Just continue absorbing Spiritual Energy later.

As always, aim for a breakthrough in ten thousand years, do it grandly!

[You invest one hundred thousand years of Life Span into Cultivation Level evolution and practice]

[You practice Energy Absorption for one thousand years. You use the Great Accomplishment of the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill to forcefully assault the Mahayana Realm and begin Tribulation Crossing. You did not survive the Xuanhuang Five Gods Heavenly Tribulation, and the Tribulation Crossing failed]

[You practice Energy Absorption for three thousand years. You use the Great Accomplishment of the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill to forcefully assault the Mahayana Realm and begin Tribulation Crossing. You did not survive the Xuanhuang Five Gods Heavenly Tribulation, and the Tribulation Crossing failed]

...

Undergoing Tribulation Crossing every two thousand years, Gu An felt somewhat uneasy.

Even if the Life Span consumed for evolutionary practice was more than what would be spent in actual, real-life cultivation, this also showed how difficult the Mahayana Realm was.

Consider that the Supreme Sect has been established for several thousand years, yet there is no record of the Mahayana Realm in the Book Collection Pavilion!

Gu An was already prepared to invest another hundred thousand years of Life Span.

After all, the Life Span invested was just a number; it becomes real only after it is converted into cultivation!

Failure!

Failure!

Failure!

The final outcome was as he expected; a hundred thousand years were spent in vain.

He grimaced and invested another hundred thousand years!

The prompt appeared again, and the constant failures numbed his heart, his blood pressure rising.

How could a Great Cultivator of the ninth layer of the Mystic Heart Realm be so easily enraged!

But Gu An just couldn't suppress his emotions right now.

At last!

Gu An saw the word "success," and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, a smile blooming on his face.

[You practice Energy Absorption for eighty-seven thousand years. You use the Great Accomplishment of the Primordial Earth Immortal Skill to forcefully assault the Mahayana Realm and begin Tribulation Crossing. You survive the Xuanhuang Five Gods Heavenly Tribulation, and the Tribulation Crossing is successful, your Cultivation Level breaking through to the first layer of the Mahayana Realm]

[You practice Energy Absorption for eighty-eight thousand years, your Cultivation Level breaking through to the second layer of the Mahayana Realm]

...

[You practice Energy Absorption for ninety-two thousand years, your Cultivation Level breaking through to the fifth layer of the Mahayana Realm]

[You practice Energy Absorption for ninety-four thousand years, your Cultivation Level breaking through to the sixth layer of the Mahayana Realm]

[You practice Energy Absorption for ninety-six thousand years, your Cultivation Level breaking through to the seventh layer of the Mahayana Realm]

[You practice Energy Absorption for ninety-nine thousand years, your Cultivation Level breaking through to the eighth layer of the Mahayana Realm]

[You practice Energy Absorption for one hundred thousand years, your Cultivation Level increases]

The eighth layer of the Mahayana Realm!

Two hundred thousand years of Life Span!

Gu An felt a bit frightened thinking back, but thankfully, he was successful.

The consumption after successfully crossing the tribulation was quite reasonable, showing that the improvements in the Spirit Root and Cultivation Technique were useful. He remembered that from the first layer to the ninth layer of the Unification Realm, he had invested a total of eighteen thousand years of Life Span.

After the fifth layer of the Unification Realm, each layer required three thousand years of Life Span to break through.

Considering that practicing in the Mahayana Realm is definitely harder, yet he was able to reduce the time, this proves that the earlier improvements to the Spirit Root and Cultivation Technique were effective. Moreover, this effect would continue to impact him in reality.

At this moment, Gu An regained his confidence.

Putting aside how powerful the strongest beings on this continent might be or how vast the lands beyond the sea could be, focusing only on the Nine Dynasties' territory, he could now walk about with authority.

If Lv Baitian, at the ninth layer of the Unification Realm, could suppress the demon path of the Taicang Dynasty to the point where they dared not invade, considering that the Taicang Dynasty is not at the bottom among the Nine Dynasties, even if other dynasties had stronger beings, they should only be at the Mystic Heart Realm.