If I become a saint, a celestial official will summon me to raise horses.

Chapter 42 Breakthrough to the Void Transcending Realm, the Demon Lord Attacks
Gu An did not continue to invest in his cultivation. He wanted to wait until he reached the first level of the Void Transcending Realm before doing so, fearing that the time spent absorbing spiritual energy would be too long and that it would not be over until dawn.

If his disciples discover that he is not in the valley, it will be troublesome.

As the notifications came one after another, Gu An clearly felt the spiritual energy in the earth surging upwards wildly.

Boom!
A surge of spiritual energy rose from the ground, whipping his robes upwards and even ruffling his black hair.

His body wasn't blown away, because spiritual energy had already entered his body, like chains binding him to the ground.

This time, the commotion caused by absorbing spiritual energy far exceeded that of his previous breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm; the ground beneath Gu An even trembled.

He secretly rejoiced, thankful for the lifespan barrier, otherwise his cultivation level would not have been able to be concealed at all.

But he suddenly became worried: would such a commotion affect the Tai Xuan Sect?

After the lifespan barrier is activated, the spiritual energy is not born from the void, but is drawn from the ground. The spiritual energy drawn is naturally the spiritual energy of the Tai Xuan Sect.

Gu An had a new guess.

He cultivates during the evolution of his lifespan; could the speed at which he does so be related to the concentration of spiritual energy in his current environment?
He thought it was very likely, because he thought of Li Xuandao, who was 230 years old and at the eighth level of the Nascent Soul Realm, which was too incredible.

Thinking about it carefully, there is a huge gap between him and Li Xuandao. If Li Xuandao also had a Heavenly Spiritual Root, his advantage would be far beyond what Gu An could compare to.

As the emperor of a dynasty, Li Xuandao could possess the highest-level cave dwelling and enjoy the best cultivation pills of the dynasty, and his cultivation techniques must also be top-notch.

In addition to these, there are also formations, magical artifacts, and so on, which may be the reason why Li Xuandao was able to successfully overcome his tribulation so quickly.

When Zuo Yijian underwent his tribulation, many cultivators were there to support him. While others made thorough preparations for their tribulations, he simply endured it during his evolutionary cultivation. In reality, death meant the annihilation of his body and soul, and there was no chance to repeat this once every two hundred years.

If we compare Gu An's evolutionary cultivation to Li Xuandao's, he seems to be far inferior, but we can't compare them like that.

In reality, Gu An is a 34-year-old cultivator at the first level of the Void Transcending Realm!
Is it possible for Li Xuandao to reach the Transcendent Realm before the age of three hundred?

Is there anyone else in this world who cultivates naked and hard like him, and even withstands heavenly tribulations?
With this thought, Gu An felt much more at ease. The lifespan invested in cultivation was ultimately just a number; the actual cultivation level was what mattered!
At the same time, he wondered if he should cultivate other attribute techniques or find a Five Elements technique to practice, which might better unleash the potential of his top-grade Five Elements Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Rumbling--

The sound of the earth's spiritual energy surging into his body grew louder and louder, and a vortex had formed within the barrier, with the five-colored spiritual energy about to engulf his figure.

……

Dark clouds surged and gradually obscured the bright moon.

In a small pavilion in a mansion, an oil lamp sits on a table. Zuo Yijian, with a full head of white hair, sits in a chair beside the table, holding a book in his hands, from which the four characters "Investiture of the Gods" can be vaguely seen.

"Golden light shines atop the head in five colors, red lotuses stretch for ten thousand miles beneath the feet, the Eight Trigrams Immortal Robe brings purple aura, and the Three-Edged Sword is named Qingping..."

Zuo Yijian muttered to himself, a look of reminiscence on his face.

He had been engrossed in the Investiture of the Gods for several years, and each time he read it, he gained something new. Although the book did not contain any cultivation methods, the immortal magic described therein captivated him.

He felt that the book contained moral principles, but he couldn't see through them yet.

Just then, Zuo Yijian seemed to sense something, and suddenly flipped himself up, his eyes looking at the ground.

The night was desolate, and a cold wind was blowing.

The wind is getting stronger.

The oil lamp on the table flickered more and more violently, as if it might go out at any moment.

Not only him, but cultivators from all directions flew out of their respective mansions and courtyards, and more and more outer disciples gathered in the sky above the city.

"What's going on? The spiritual energy is sinking!"

"You feel it too?"

"Won't demons invade?"

"It shouldn't be that bad. This is the Tai Xuan Sect. Who would dare to court death here?"

"Could it be that a large underground formation is being activated?"

The outer disciples were buzzing with discussion. Ye Lan also flew out of her courtyard on her sword, looking nervously at the outer sect street.

As night fell, a steady stream of cultivators flew into the air, while the menial disciples who did not know sword control gathered in the streets, all filled with fear and unease.

Everyone could feel the spiritual energy sinking into the ground. They had never encountered anything like this before, so they were naturally panicked.

What worries them most is that the spiritual energy is sinking at an increasingly rapid pace, and the spiritual energy within the outer city is becoming thinner and thinner quickly.

Spiritual energy is of paramount importance to any sect or faction; the foundation of a major sect includes spiritual energy.

……

In the mountains and forests, Gu An had already entered the Nascent Soul Realm. His nascent soul emerged from his body and floated above his head.

A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator can condense a Nascent Soul, but normally the Nascent Soul cannot leave the body. Once it leaves the body, it will sever its connection with the physical body. Therefore, a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator will only have their Nascent Soul leave their body when they are on the verge of death, in order to find a new physical body to possess.

The Nascent Soul Realm allows the Nascent Soul to transform into the Primordial Spirit. The Primordial Spirit is equivalent to a manifestation of the soul. The Primordial Spirit leaving the body is a special technique in the Nascent Soul Realm. The Primordial Spirit leaving the body does not sever the connection with the physical body. Below the Nascent Soul Realm, the Primordial Spirit cannot be seen unless it manifests on its own.

When the primordial spirit is born from the nascent soul, the cultivator's consciousness will also undergo earth-shattering changes.

Gu An was immersed in this transformation. His nascent soul gradually transformed into a blue lotus, then bloomed. His primordial spirit slowly rose from within, looking exactly like his original self, even showing his clothing. The Nascent Soul Realm was not the end; Gu An was still striving for higher realms, and the spiritual energy he was absorbing was becoming increasingly vast. He noticed that the mountains and forests outside the barrier were also beginning to tremble slightly.

This made him even more nervous.

That's making too much noise!
Gu An dared not use his primordial spirit to fly out of the lifespan barrier, for fear of encountering a Nascent Soul cultivator exploring the area.

The Tai Xuan Sect must have cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm, since some powerful elders in the outer sect can reach the Core Formation Realm, not to mention the inner sect and the sect's main city.

He even suspected that the Tai Xuan Sect was hiding a Void Transcending Realm cultivator, otherwise why would Li Xuandao, who was at the eighth level of the Divine Transformation Realm, hide his cultivation?

Time continues to pass.

An hour later, Gu An's cultivation had reached the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Two figures suddenly streaked across the night sky. As soon as he saw their true faces with his naked eye, he immediately used his lifespan detection.

Good guy!
Two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators!
Gu An became even more nervous and could only pray that no one would notice the forest.

The lifespan barrier makes him invisible to outsiders, but the real danger is that someone might just happen to walk through it.

After that, powerful cultivators kept flying overhead, with the lowest cultivation level being the Nascent Soul Realm.

Before long, he spotted figures at the Nascent Soul stage, and there was more than one!
Gu An felt like he had struck a chord with the heavens, especially since he was attempting to break through to the Void Transcending Realm, which required an even greater amount of spiritual energy.

This night was destined to be restless.

Gu An's cultivation progress only slowed down just as dawn was breaking.

First level of the Void Transcending Realm!
Upon reaching the Transcendent Realm, one's primordial spirit can roam thousands of miles away, and one's spiritual power, divine sense, perception, and blood and qi will all experience a leap in enhancement.

Gu An slowly stood up. Sunlight pierced the sky and shone into the life-sustaining barrier, falling on him. It was as if he was draped in a rosy robe. He looked at the rising sun and smiled.

The spiritual power within him was immense, giving him a sense of omnipotence.

He closed the lifespan barrier and then walked towards Xuan Valley.

The lifespan barrier alone consumed nearly two thousand years, which shows how big the commotion was last night.

As his breakthrough ended, the world returned to normal, but the spiritual energy in the mountains and forests was far less than it had been the day before.

Even Gu An, who had reached the Void Transcending Realm, couldn't estimate how much spiritual energy he had absorbed last night.

On his way back, Gu An saw another great cultivator flying overhead. Since last night, he had seen seven Nascent Soul stage cultivators, which made him marvel at the profound foundation of the Tai Xuan Sect.

He quickly returned to Xuan Valley, then came out of the pavilion and called on his disciples to practice their exercises.

"Master, the spiritual energy suddenly dropped last night. Did you feel it?" Ye Yan asked, his brows furrowing as he spoke of it.

The other disciples spoke up one after another. They had also sensed the danger and were very worried, fearing that Xuan Valley might suddenly collapse.

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

Upon hearing this, the disciples' worries dissipated considerably.

Wu Xin guessed, "It might be related to some kind of formation. I estimate that a great cultivator in the sect is breaking through and needs a huge amount of spiritual energy."

It was obvious that he had encountered them at Qianqiu Pavilion, but he couldn't say it out loud.

"Master, why do I feel like you're acting a little different today?" Zhen Qin asked Gu An curiously.

Gu An rolled her eyes at her and said irritably, "You think I'm changing every day and want me to teach you leg techniques? Just be direct."

The other disciples couldn't help but laugh, and Zhen Qin smiled shyly as well.

The training officially began, and Gu An was also getting familiar with his new spiritual power during the training.

After finishing, Gu An did not go back to the house, but walked towards the nearby mountains and forests.

In his quest for a breakthrough, he overexploited a significant amount of medicinal herbs, which will impact his harvest over the next two years. He will have no choice but to cultivate new land and expand his plantation.

Ugh.

A dignified cultivator at the Transcendent Realm is planting flowers and grass for you. The Tai Xuan Sect should be content!

Gu An thought to himself with a sense of satisfaction that as he entered the mountains, cultivators flew overhead, which reassured the disciples in the valley. At least the Tai Xuan Sect was indeed paying attention to the matter and wouldn't ignore them.

Ye Lan returned to Xuan Valley around noon.

After chatting for a while, she finally broke free from the disciples' entourage and followed Gu An to the pavilion.

After closing the door, she went to close the windows. Not only that, she also took out talismans and pasted them on the doors and windows.

Gu An looked at her nervously and asked, "Junior sister, what do you want to do?"

How to do?
To comply or not to comply?
After completing all the isolation measures, Ye Lan sat down at the table. While pouring herself some tea, she said, "Senior brother, something terrible has happened. The Demon Lord may be about to attack!"

Gu An paused for a moment, then sat down and asked curiously, "Who is the Demon Lord? What sect or faction does he come from?"

(End of this chapter)