Gu An did not continue spending lifespan on cultivation. He wanted to wait until he reached the first level of the Void Crossing Realm first. He feared that absorbing spiritual qi afterward would take too long and still not be finished by dawn.
If the disciples discovered that he was not in the valley, it would be troublesome.
As one notification after another descended, Gu An could clearly sense the spiritual qi within the earth crazily surging upward.
Boom!
Spiritual qi rose from the ground like raging waves, tugging his robes upward and tossing his black hair into disarray.
His body was not blown away, because the spiritual qi had already drilled into him, like chains binding him to the ground.
The commotion caused by devouring spiritual qi this time far exceeded his previous breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm. Even the ground beneath Gu An trembled.
He secretly rejoiced that he had the Longevity Barrier. Otherwise, there would have been no way to conceal his cultivation.
But a concern suddenly arose within him. With such a disturbance, would it affect the Taixuan Sect?
After the Longevity Barrier was activated, the spiritual qi did not emerge from thin air. It was drawn from beneath the ground, and naturally, the qi being drawn belonged to the Taixuan Sect.
Gu An came up with another conjecture.
When he cultivated through Lifespan Evolution, could his speed be related to the density of spiritual qi in his current surroundings?
He felt that it was very likely, because he thought of Li Xuandao. Eighth level of Spirit Transformation at two hundred and thirty years old—simply unbelievable.
Thinking carefully, the gap between himself and Li Xuandao was enormous. If Li Xuandao also possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root, then his advantages were far beyond anything Gu An could compare to.
As the emperor of a dynasty, Li Xuandao could possess the finest Cave Mansion, enjoy the best cultivation pills in the dynasty, and his cultivation technique was certainly top-tier as well.
Beyond that, there were Formations, magical artifacts, and more. Perhaps that was also why Li Xuandao had been able to successfully overcome tribulation so quickly.
When Zuo Yijian had undergone tribulation before, many cultivators had stood guard for him. Others made exhaustive preparations before undergoing tribulation, while Gu An simply endured it head-on during evolutionary cultivation. In reality, death would mean complete annihilation of body and soul. There would be no chance to repeat it once every two hundred years.
If he compared his evolutionary cultivation to Li Xuandao's, Gu An might seem terribly inferior, but that was not how it should be compared.
In truth, Gu An was a thirty-four-year-old first-level Void Crossing Realm cultivator!
Could Li Xuandao reach the Void Crossing Realm before the age of three hundred?
Was there a second person in this world like him, cultivating bare-handed, cultivating by brute force, and forcibly enduring heavenly tribulation?
Thinking of it this way, Gu An felt much more balanced. The lifespan invested in cultivation was ultimately just a number; his cultivation in reality was what truly mattered!
At the same time, he wondered whether he should cultivate techniques of other attributes, or find a Five Elements Technique to practice. Perhaps that would better unleash the potential of his Supreme Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root.
Rumble—
The sound of earth qi flooding into his body grew louder and louder. A vortex had already formed within the barrier, and five-colored spiritual qi was about to drown out his figure.
Dark clouds churned, gradually obscuring the moon.
Within an estate, an oil lamp sat on a table in a small pavilion. Zuo Yijian, his head full of white hair, sat in a chair beside the table with a book in his hands. The four words Investiture of the Gods could vaguely be seen on its cover.
"Golden radiance atop the head split into five hues; red lotuses beneath the feet sped across ten thousand journeys. The Eight Trigrams Immortal Robe summoned purple qi; the three-edged treasured sword was named Green Duckweed..."
Zuo Yijian murmured the lines, a look of lingering appreciation appearing on his face.
He had been obsessed with Investiture of the Gods for years. Reading it over and over always brought him new insights. Though the book contained no cultivation methods, the immortal arts it depicted set his heart racing.
He felt that the book concealed the principles of the Dao, but for now, he could not see through them.
Just then, Zuo Yijian seemed to sense something. He abruptly sprang to his feet and looked toward the ground.
The night was desolate, and the cold wind rustled.
The wind was growing stronger.
The flame of the oil lamp on the table swayed ever more violently, as though it could be extinguished at any moment.
He was not the only one. Cultivators flew out from estates and courtyards in every direction, and more and more Outer Sect disciples gathered above the city.
"What is happening? The spiritual qi is sinking!"
"You felt it too?"
"Could demons be invading?"
"Surely not. This is the Taixuan Sect. Who would dare court death here?"
"Could some great formation underground be activating?"
The Outer Sect disciples discussed the matter animatedly. Ye Lan also flew out of her courtyard on her sword, gazing tensely toward the Outer Sect streets.
The night was dim. Cultivators streamed endlessly into the air, while the Handyman Disciples who could not use the Sword Flight Technique gathered in the streets, each one gripped by fear.
Everyone could sense spiritual qi sinking underground. They had never encountered such a situation before, so naturally they panicked.
What unsettled them most was that the spiritual qi was sinking faster and faster. The qi within Outer Sect City was rapidly growing thin.
Spiritual qi was of paramount importance to any sect or school. The foundation of a great sect included its spiritual qi.
Within the mountain forest, Gu An had already entered the Spirit Transformation Realm. The Nascent Soul within his body emerged and floated above his head.
At the Nascent Soul Realm, one could condense a Nascent Soul, but under normal circumstances, it could not leave the body. Once it did, its connection to the physical body would be severed. Thus, Nascent Soul Realm cultivators only sent their Nascent Souls out of their bodies when they were on the brink of death, seeking a new body to possess.
At the Spirit Transformation Realm, the Nascent Soul could transform into a Primordial Spirit. The Primordial Spirit was akin to a manifestation of the soul. Having the Primordial Spirit leave the body was a special method of the Spirit Transformation Realm, and it did not sever its connection with the physical body. Those below the Spirit Transformation Realm could not see a Primordial Spirit unless it chose to reveal itself.
Once the Primordial Spirit was nurtured from within the Nascent Soul, a cultivator's divine sense would undergo an earth-shaking transformation.
Gu An was immersed in this transformation. His Nascent Soul gradually became a Green Lotus, then bloomed open. His Primordial Spirit slowly rose from within it, looking exactly like his true body, even with clothing manifested upon it.
The Spirit Transformation Realm was not yet the end. Gu An continued charging toward a higher realm, and the spiritual qi he devoured grew ever more immense. He noticed that the forest outside the barrier had begun to tremble faintly as well.
This made him even more nervous.
The disturbance was too great!
Gu An did not dare send his Primordial Spirit beyond the Longevity Barrier, fearing that he might encounter a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator investigating this region.
The Taixuan Sect certainly had Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators. Some powerful elders in the Outer Sect could already reach the Nascent Soul Realm, not to mention the Inner Sect and Main Sect City.
He even suspected that the Taixuan Sect had Void Crossing Realm cultivators hidden away. Otherwise, why would Li Xuandao, an eighth-level Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator, conceal his cultivation?
Time continued to pass.
An hour later, Gu An's cultivation had reached the ninth level of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
Two figures suddenly streaked across the night sky. The moment his naked eye saw their true appearances, he immediately cast Lifespan Inspection on them.
Good heavens!
Two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators!
Gu An became even more nervous and could only pray that no one would notice this mountain forest.
The Longevity Barrier could keep outsiders from seeing him, but he feared that someone might happen to pass through this place.
Afterward, powerful cultivators constantly flew past overhead, the weakest among them being at the Nascent Soul Realm.
Before long, he saw figures at the Spirit Transformation Realm—and there was more than one!
Gu An felt as though he had poked a hole in the heavens. The key was that he was currently charging toward the Void Crossing Realm, which required even more immense spiritual qi.
This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Only when dawn had just broken did the growth of Gu An's cultivation finally slow.
First level of the Void Crossing Realm!
Upon reaching the Void Crossing Realm, one's Primordial Spirit could roam Ten Thousand Miles Away. Spiritual power, divine sense, perception, and vital energy would all receive a leap in enhancement.
Gu An slowly rose to his feet. Sunlight tore through the heavens, illuminating the Longevity Barrier and falling upon his body. It was as if he wore a robe of rosy clouds. He looked toward the rising sun, a smile appearing on his face.
The spiritual power within his body was incomparably immense, giving him the feeling that nothing was beyond his ability.
He shut down the Longevity Barrier and headed toward Mystic Valley.
The Longevity Barrier alone had consumed nearly two thousand years of lifespan, enough to show just how great last night's commotion had been.
As his breakthrough ended, heaven and earth returned to normal. Yet the spiritual qi in the mountain forest was far inferior to what it had been yesterday.
Even Gu An, now at the Void Crossing Realm, could not estimate how much spiritual qi he had absorbed last night.
On his way back, Gu An saw more Great Cultivators flying through the sky. From last night until now, he had already seen seven Spirit Transformation Realm Great Cultivators, leaving him to marvel at the profound foundation of the Taixuan Sect.
He quickly returned to Mystic Valley, then emerged from the pavilion and called the disciples over for exercises.
"Master, the spiritual qi suddenly sank last night. Did you feel it?" Ye Yan asked. As he mentioned the matter, his brows could not help but furrow.
The other disciples all spoke up as well. They had felt it too, and they were deeply worried, afraid that Mystic Valley might suddenly collapse.
Gu An smiled. "This is the Taixuan Sect, the safest place in the Great Cang Dynasty. How could it possibly collapse?"
Upon hearing this, the disciples' worries dissipated considerably.
Wuxin guessed, "It may be related to some kind of Formation. Perhaps a Great Cultivator in the sect is breaking through and requires an enormous amount of spiritual qi."
Clearly, he had encountered something similar at Thousand Autumn Pavilion, but he could not say so aloud.
"Master, why do I feel like you seem a little different today?" Zhen Qin stared at Gu An and asked curiously.
Gu An rolled his eyes at her and said irritably, "Every day, you think I've changed somehow. If you want me to teach you leg techniques, just say it outright."
The other disciples could not help but laugh, and Zhen Qin smiled sheepishly as well.
The exercises officially began. As he led them, Gu An was also familiarizing himself with his brand-new spiritual power.
After they finished, Gu An did not return to his room. Instead, he headed toward the nearby mountain forest.
For this breakthrough, he had drained quite a few medicinal herbs. The harvest over the next two years would be affected, so he could only reclaim more land and expand the gardens.
Sigh.
A dignified Void Crossing Realm Great Cultivator was growing flowers and grass for you people. The Taixuan Sect should count itself fortunate!
Gu An thought smugly to himself. As he entered the forest, another cultivator flew overhead. This reassured the disciples in the valley somewhat. At least the Taixuan Sect was indeed paying attention to the matter and would not simply ignore them.
It was not until noon that Ye Lan returned to Mystic Valley.
After chatting for quite some time, she finally shook off the disciples crowding around her and followed Gu An upstairs into the pavilion.
After closing the door, she went to shut the windows as well. Not only that, she took out talisman paper and stuck it onto the doors and windows.
Gu An looked at her nervously and asked, "Junior Sister, what are you trying to do?"
What should I do? Should I submit, or not?
Only after taking every measure to isolate the room did Ye Lan come to sit at the table. As she poured herself tea, she said, "Senior Brother, something huge has happened. The Devil Lord may be about to attack!"
Gu An froze briefly, then sat down as well and asked curiously, "Who is the Devil Lord? Which sect or school does he come from?"
Before you continue