Breaking Through to the Void Crossing Realm, the Devil Master Attacks

Gu An did not continue to burn his lifespan for cultivation; he wanted to wait until he reached the first level of the Void Crossing Realm first. He feared that the time required to absorb the spiritual energy later would be so long that dawn would arrive before he finished.

If the disciples discovered he was not in the valley, it would be troublesome.

Following a series of system prompts, Gu An clearly felt the spiritual energy within the earth surging upward frantically.

BOOM!

A wild wave of spiritual energy rose from the ground, blowing his robes upward and even disheveling his black hair.

His body was not blown away because the spiritual energy had already drilled into him, acting like chains that tethered him to the ground.

The commotion caused by swallowing spiritual energy this time far exceeded his previous breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm; the ground beneath Gu An was even shaking.

He secretly rejoiced that he had the Longevity Barrier, otherwise, his cultivation would be impossible to hide.

However, he suddenly felt worried: would such a commotion affect the Taixuan Sect?

After activating the Longevity Barrier, the spiritual energy was not born from the void but drawn from underground; the spiritual energy being extracted was naturally the spiritual energy of the Taixuan Sect.

Gu An then had a new hypothesis.

When he cultivated within the lifespan evolution, was his speed related to the concentration of spiritual energy in the current environment?

He felt it was very likely, as he thought of Li Xuandao—a two-hundred-and-thirty-year-old at the eighth level of the Spirit Transmutation realm. It was simply incredible.

Thinking carefully, the gap between him and Li Xuandao was immense. If Li Xuandao also possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root, his advantages were far beyond what Gu An could compare to.

As an emperor of a dynasty, Li Xuandao could possess the highest-grade cave dwelling, enjoy the best cultivation pills of a dynasty, and his cultivation techniques were certainly top-tier.

Beyond that, there were formations, magical artifacts, and so on; perhaps this was also the reason Li Xuandao could successfully pass his tribulations quickly.

Previously, when Zuo Yijian underwent his tribulation, many cultivators were there to guard him. Others made full preparations for their tribulations, while he just endured them head-on during his evolutionary cultivation. In reality, if you died, you were gone; there were no repeat chances every two hundred years.

If one were to compare evolutionary cultivation with Li Xuandao, Gu An might seem inferior, but one could not compare them that way.

In reality, Gu An was a thirty-four-year-old at the first level of the Void Crossing Realm!

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

Was there anyone else in this world like him, cultivating naked, cultivating hard, and even tanking heavenly tribulations head-on?

Thinking this way, Gu An felt much more balanced. The lifespan invested in cultivation was ultimately just a number; his real-world cultivation was what truly mattered!

At the same time, he wondered if he should cultivate techniques of other attributes, or find a Five Elements technique to practice; that might better unleash the potential of his Supreme Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Root.

Rumble--

The sound generated by the earth's spiritual energy pouring into his body grew louder and louder. A vortex had already formed within the barrier, and five-colored spiritual energy was about to submerge his figure.

Dark clouds surged, gradually obscuring the bright moon.

In a small pavilion within a residence, an oil lamp sat on a table. Zuo Yijian, with his full head of white hair, sat in a chair beside the table, holding a book in his hands. One could vaguely see the characters for Investiture of the Gods.

"Golden light divides into five colors atop the head, red lotuses follow every step beneath the feet, purple energy arrives with the Eight Trigrams immortal robe, the three-edged precious sword is called Qingping..."

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

He had been obsessed with Investiture of the Gods for several years. Reading it over and over always gave him new insights. Although there were no cultivation methods in this book, the immortal arts depicted within it made him yearn for them.

He felt that this book contained the essence of the Dao, only he was unable to see through it for the time being.

Just then, Zuo Yijian seemed to sense something. He suddenly flipped up from his seat, his gaze fixed on the ground.

The night was desolate, and the cold wind was biting.

The sound of the wind was growing louder.

The flame of the oil lamp on the table flickered more and more violently, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

It wasn't just him; from all directions, cultivators flew out of their respective residences and courtyards. More and more Outer Sect disciples gathered in the sky above the city.

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

"You felt it too?"

"Could there be a demon invasion?"

"That shouldn't be the case. This is the Taixuan Sect; who would dare to court death?"

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

The Outer Sect disciples discussed it heatedly. Ye Lan also flew out of her courtyard on her sword, looking nervously toward the streets of the Outer Sect.

The night was dark, and a continuous stream of cultivators flew into the sky. Those servant disciples who could not use the Sword Flight Technique gathered on the streets, all of them panicked and uneasy.

Everyone could feel the spiritual energy sinking into the ground. They had never encountered such a situation before, so they were naturally panicked.

What unsettled them most was that the speed at which the spiritual energy was sinking was increasing, and the spiritual energy within the Outer Sect city was rapidly thinning.

Spiritual energy was the most important foundation of any sect or school; the heritage of a great sect included its spiritual energy.

In the mountain forest, Gu An had already stepped into the Spirit Transmutation realm. The Nascent Soul within his body emerged, hovering above his head.

The Nascent Soul Realm allowed one to condense a Nascent Soul, but normally, the Nascent Soul could not leave the body. Once it left, it would sever its connection with the physical body. Therefore, in the Nascent Soul Realm, the Nascent Soul only left the body when one was on the verge of death, seeking a new body for possession.

The Spirit Transmutation Realm allows the Nascent Soul to transform into a Primordial Spirit, which is a manifestation of the soul. The Primordial Spirit leaving the body is a special technique of the Spirit Transmutation Realm, and it does not sever the connection to the physical body. Below the Spirit Transmutation Realm, one cannot see the Primordial Spirit unless it chooses to manifest itself.

Once the Primordial Spirit is conceived and born from the Nascent Soul, the cultivator's divine sense also undergoes a heaven-shaking transformation.

Gu An was immersed in this change. His Nascent Soul gradually turned into a Green Lotus, which then bloomed, and his Primordial Spirit slowly stood up from within. It looked exactly like his true self, even down to the appearance of his clothing.

The Spirit Transmutation Realm was not the end; Gu An was still pushing toward a higher realm. Moreover, the spiritual energy he was devouring was becoming increasingly massive, and he noticed that the forest outside the barrier had begun to tremble slightly.

This made him even more nervous.

The commotion was too great!

Gu An dared not let his Primordial Spirit fly out of the Longevity Barrier, fearing he might encounter a Spirit Transmutation Realm cultivator scouting the area.

The Taixuan Sect certainly had Spirit Transmutation Realm cultivators; after all, some powerful elders in the Outer Sect could reach the Nascent Soul Realm, let alone those in the Inner Sect and the main sect city.

He even suspected that the Taixuan Sect was hiding a Void Crossing Realm expert; otherwise, why would Li Xuandao, a Spirit Transmutation Realm eighth-layer cultivator, hide his cultivation?

Time continued to pass.

An hour later, Gu An's cultivation had already reached the ninth layer of the Spirit Transmutation Realm.

Two figures suddenly streaked across the night sky. As his naked eye caught their true appearances, he immediately cast a lifespan inspection.

Good grief!

Two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators!

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

The Longevity Barrier could hide his figure from the outside world, but he feared someone might just happen to pass by.

Afterward, powerful cultivators continuously streaked across the sky, the lowest in cultivation being at the Nascent Soul Realm.

Not long after, he saw figures of the Spirit Transmutation Realm, and more than one!

Gu An felt as if he had poked a hole in the sky. The crucial point was that he was currently pushing toward the Void Crossing Realm, which required even more massive amounts of spiritual energy.

This night was destined to be restless.

It was not until the sky had just turned bright that the growth of Gu An's cultivation finally slowed down.

Void Crossing Realm, first layer!

Upon reaching the Void Crossing Realm, the Primordial Spirit can gallop ten thousand miles away, and one's spiritual power, divine sense, perception, and blood energy all undergo a leap in strength.

Gu An stood up slowly. Sunlight pierced the firmament, shining all the way into the Longevity Barrier and landing on him. It was as if he were draped in a robe of rosy clouds. He looked toward the morning sun and a smile appeared on his face.

The spiritual power within his body was incredibly vast, giving him a feeling of omnipotence.

He closed the Longevity Barrier and then walked toward the Mystic Valley.

The Longevity Barrier alone had consumed nearly two thousand years of his lifespan, which was enough to show how great the commotion had been last night.

As his breakthrough ended, the world returned to normal, though the spiritual energy in the forest was far less than it had been yesterday.

Even Gu An, now in the Void Crossing Realm, could not estimate how much spiritual energy he had absorbed last night.

On his way back, Gu An saw great cultivators flying across the sky again. From last night until now, he had seen seven great cultivators of the Spirit Transmutation Realm, making him marvel at the depth of the Taixuan Sect's foundation.

He quickly returned to the Mystic Valley, then stepped out of the pavilion to call the disciples for their exercises.

"Master, the spiritual energy suddenly sank last night. Did you feel it?" Ye Yan asked, his brows furrowing as he brought up the matter.

The other disciples spoke up one after another; they had felt it too, and they were very worried, fearing that the Mystic Valley might suddenly collapse.

Gu An laughed: "This is the Taixuan Sect, the safest place in the Great Cang Dynasty. How could it collapse?"

Upon hearing this, the disciples' worries dissipated quite a bit.

Wuxin guessed: "It might be related to some kind of formation. I suspect a great cultivator in the sect had a breakthrough and needed massive spiritual energy."

Clearly, he had encountered this at the Thousand Autumn Pavilion, but he could not speak of it.

"Master, why do I feel like you're a bit different today?" Zhen Qin stared at Gu An and asked curiously.

Gu An rolled his eyes at her and said ungraciously: "You think I've changed every day. If you want me to teach you leg techniques, just be direct."

The other disciples couldn't help but chuckle, and Zhen Qin also smiled sheepishly.

The exercises officially began, and Gu An used the time to familiarize himself with his brand-new spiritual power.

After it ended, Gu An did not return to his room but walked toward the nearby forest.

This time, to achieve his breakthrough, he had squeezed out quite a few medicinal herbs. The harvest for the next two years would be affected, so he had no choice but to reclaim wasteland and expand more garden areas.

Sigh.

A dignified Void Crossing Realm great cultivator planting flowers and grass for you all—the Taixuan Sect should be content!

Gu An thought to himself with satisfaction. As he entered the forest, more cultivators flew across the sky. This actually reassured the disciples in the valley; at least the Taixuan Sect was indeed paying attention to the matter and wouldn't leave them to fend for themselves.

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

After chatting for a while, she finally shook off the disciples crowding her and followed Gu An up to the pavilion.

After she closed the door, she went to close the windows as well. Not only that, she took out talisman paper and pasted it onto the doors and windows.

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

What to do?

Should he comply or not?

After finishing all the isolation measures, Ye Lan finally sat down at the table. While pouring herself tea, she said: "Senior Brother, something big has happened. It is possible that the Devil Master is about to strike!"

Gu An was stunned. He sat down and asked curiously: "Who is the Devil Master? Which sect or faction does he come from?"