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

After Chen Xuanjin was pierced through the chest by a leaf swirling with Sword Qi, the Spiritual Power inside his body dispersed, and his eyes widened in fear, as his courage nearly shattered.

He immediately escaped by ejecting his Nascent Soul and fled toward the horizon.

In the trembling forest, Gu An calmly watched Chen Xuanjin flee. He intentionally did not kill Chen Xuanjin—killing him would only yield twenty to thirty years of life span. It was better to let him return, to intimidate the person pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

Even if he killed Chen Xuanjin now, someone else would take his place, addressing the symptom but not the root cause.

If intimidation failed to work, and his Mystic Valley was threatened, then Gu An would be forced to govern his domain personally.

Under the night sky, Gu An's gaze was so cold. He turned and left, quickly vanishing into the forest.

Amidst the ruins.

Zuo Yijian struggled for a long time before he managed to stand up. Covered in blood and dirt, he looked incredibly disheveled. He called out loudly for his seniors, but no one responded to him.

He had no choice but to sit cross-legged and start cultivating energy to heal on the spot.

Elsewhere, Gu An moved quickly, spanning a thousand miles before he finally stopped.

He was still hidden in the woodland. Pulling up his clothing hem, he sat down in front of a tree and then called up his Attribute Panel.

Looking at his life span of over a hundred thousand years, he took a deep breath.

Void Crossing Realm's Tribulation, who knows how many times it would fail.

But he had made up his mind, no matter how many times he failed, he would break through!

Otherwise, he felt no sense of security!

First, let's invest ten thousand years of life span!

[You have invested ten thousand years of life span into your cultivation level for evolutionary practice]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for a hundred years, you with the Great Accomplishment of Yang Wood Primordial Skill forcefully broke through to the Unification Realm, starting Tribulation Crossing, and you did not survive the trial of the Five Elements Divine Thunder, Tribulation failed]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for four hundred years, you with the Great Accomplishment of Yang Wood Primordial Skill forcefully broke through to the Unification Realm, starting Tribulation Crossing, and you did not survive the trial of the Five Elements Divine Thunder, Tribulation failed]

…

Continuous failures began!

Every three hundred years, a Tribulation Crossing would be attempted!

It's no wonder the Supreme Sect practiced Demon Skills to break through Heavenly Destiny; this realm is indeed hard to withstand.

After ten consecutive failures, Gu An's heart began to quiver.

Is it really this hard?

He had practiced the Infinite Traceless Mystic Heaven Step, the Great Yin-Yang Transformation, and mastered two Divine Skills. Were Tribulation Crossings still this difficult?

Gu An noticed that most of his Tribulations related to the Five Elements. Could it be that the Tribulations he faced were much more difficult than those faced by others?

After Core Formation, Li Ya once said that Tribulations also varied in type. Different Cultivators may face different Tribulations, primarily related to one's talent and cultivation technique.

Gu An's eyes grew sharp.

No matter how hard, he would succeed!

Heaven does not let down those who persevere!

[You practiced Energy Absorption for five thousand four hundred years, you with the Great Accomplishment of Yang Wood Primordial Skill forcefully broke through to the Unification Realm, starting Tribulation Crossing, and you did not survive the trial of the Five Elements Divine Thunder, Tribulation failed]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for five thousand seven hundred years, you with the Great Accomplishment of Yang Wood Primordial Skill forcefully broke through to the Unification Realm, starting Tribulation Crossing, and you did not survive the trial of the Five Elements Divine Thunder, Tribulation failed]

…

The prompts of failure still continued!

Gu An quickly checked his Attribute Panel, looking at his life span, feeling slightly relieved.

His confidence was still abundant!

However, after ten thousand years had passed, he still had not succeeded.

On the verge of losing his composure, he quickly invested another twelve hundred years.

Failure!

Failure!

Failure!

Failure!

Gu An's eyes turned red as he once again invested twelve hundred years.

Failure!

Failure!

Success!

[You practiced Energy Absorption for nine hundred years, you with the Great Accomplishment of Yang Wood Primordial Skill forcefully broke through to the Unification Realm, starting Tribulation Crossing, and you survived the trial of the Five Elements Divine Thunder, Tribulation succeeded, advancing to the first layer of the Unification Realm]

[You practiced Energy Absorption for twelve hundred years, your cultivation level increased]

He succeeded!

Gu An let out a sigh of relief, it actually took twelve thousand four hundred years to finally achieve a successful breakthrough!

Although the life span spent in life span evolution much exceeded that of actual practice, it still put immense pressure on him.

If the Unification Realm was so challenging, what about the later realms?

But on second thought, with his initial talents, to reach the Unification Realm before the age of fifty was incredible.

What's spent isn't life, but merely numbers!

Gu An adjusted his mindset, activated the Life Span Barrier, and prepared to enjoy the boost in cultivation level.

The ground began to overflow with Spiritual Energy, visibly manifesting at a visible speed. Within three breaths, the ground showed waves of green, formed by the Wood Attribute Spiritual Energy.

Spiritual Energy flowed into his body, stirring up a cyclone that enveloped him.

The commotion grew larger and larger!

Gu An felt that this time the disturbance would exceed his prior experiences; it seemed like just a single realm breakthrough, but this realm required an incomparably greater amount of Spiritual Energy than previous realms.

As the Spiritual Energy entered his body, Gu An's cultivation level began to rise, and insights about the Unification Realm flooded his mind as if he had truly experienced those years of practice.

…

In the Outer City.

Within a mansion, Chen Xuanjin's Nascent Soul floated in front of a desk, his complexion dark and his gaze fixated on the ancient bronze mirror before him.

Suddenly, a blurry face reflected in the mirror, and an indifferent voice emerged, "What brings you to me so late at night?"

"I was nearly executed by the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal... and also Zuo Yijian, he's thwarting our grand scheme!" Chen Xuanjin gritted his teeth, his voice filled with bitterness and a hint of fear.

When the flying leaves pierced his flesh, Chen Xuanjin felt as if he was facing death itself, and now he was extremely horrified in retrospect.

He felt that had he reacted even slightly slower, he might have truly perished!

The person in the mirror fell silent upon hearing this.

Chen Xuanjin did not disturb him, waiting quietly instead.

After a while, Chen Xuanjin seemed to sense something, and his face drastically changed.

"The Spiritual Energy is sinking again!" he said hastily, glancing towards the door as if afraid the Flying Leaf Sword Immortal would appear any moment.

"Tomorrow, I'll come to the Outer Sect myself!" the person in the mirror declared, and as the voice faded, the image vanished.

Chen Xuanjin turned to look outside the window. The dark clouds gradually covered the bright moon, as if a terrifying omen was approaching, further unsettling his heart.

It wasn't just him who felt the sinking of the Spiritual Energy; the entire Outer City was in uproar, with more and more disciples taking to the skies.

Lately, Demon Cultivators roamed wildly, with disciples going missing from time to time. With the sudden sinking of Spiritual Energy tonight, who wouldn't panic?

Ye Lan flew towards the Law Enforcement Hall, and along the way encountered Lu Jiujia, who flew at her head-on with Sword Control; both stopped simultaneously.

Lu Jiujia had a stern expression. Seeing Ye Lan, he hesitated to speak.

Ye Lan, expressionless, said, "Is it your doing again?"

Lu Jiujia shook his head, "No, the Demon Extermination Hall has already ordered heightened alert, this time it might truly be a Demon Cultivator invasion."

"Truly?" Ye Lan asked with a sarcastic tone.

Lu Jiujia frowned.

Ye Lan continued, "Senior Brother Lu, do you really think this path is correct? If they can be cruel to other disciples, are you so sure they'll never turn on you?"

Lu Jiujia retorted, "If we don't take this path, then what? Follow your lead, and join the Law Enforcement Hall that could be disbanded at any moment?"

Their gazes locked, bristling with silent confrontation.

In the end, they brushed past each other, neither uttering any further threats.

...

The clouds churned, and in the night sky, an enormous inverted vortex appeared, vast and boundless, with the forests below undulating like waves, oppressive to the extreme.

In a secluded patch of woods, where no one could spy on him, Gu An continued his meditation.

A full hour had passed, and his Cultivation Level was still rising, not yet breaking through to the Unification Realm.

The amount of Spiritual Energy required for the Unification Realm was huge, far beyond Gu An's expectations.

Considering such a realm, how terrifying must real Tribulation Crossing be?

He suddenly felt that failing the simulated Tribulation Crossing countless times was of no consequence since failing a real Tribulation Crossing even once could lead to complete annihilation.

Gu An felt his Spiritual Power surging uncontrollably, and his mood was anything but calm.

If the Unification Realm held such immense Spiritual Power, how powerful must a true Immortal be?

He became lost in endless daydreams.

The Earth Spirit Energy crazily flowed into his body, with green qi waves erupting from the ground, making him feel as though he was in the midst of an ocean.

Outside the Life Span Barrier, the woods shook violently, and numerous Cultivators flew overhead, but none noticed Gu An's presence.

The impact he caused was not limited to this; to be precise, the entire Supreme Sect felt the effects, with the woods outside each Outer City trembling, causing alarm and unease among the Supreme Sect's Cultivators.

Having experienced this before, Gu An was not the least bit panicked; in fact, his mood carried a touch of playfulness.

Wanting to practice Demon Skills, wanting to sacrifice Outer Disciples, let's see if you panic now!

Gu An was very dissatisfied with the idea of sacrificing a few for the greater good, not because he was noble, but because he was among those being sacrificed.

Time continued to pass.

More and more Cultivators flew over Gu An's head, and he kept using the Life Span Detection.

More than ten Divinity Transformation Realm Cultivators passed by, and he even saw those from the Void Crossing Realm.

Indeed, the Supreme Sect was a den of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!

As the number of Cultivators from the Void Crossing Realm increased, Gu An even caught a glimpse of Gu Zong.

The patrolling Gu Zong emitted a formidable aura, unlike the gentleness shown to Gu An before. His overwhelming pressure made all creatures tremble.

This night was destined to be restless.

Another half hour passed, and Gu An finally achieved a breakthrough to the Unification Realm, his entire perception undergoing a transformation.

He felt a deeper integration between his physical body and his Primordial Spirit, the process of Primordial Spirit Emergence became much easier, and his control over both his body and his Primordial Spirit far surpassed that of his previous state.

This feeling was so wonderful that he found it indescribable.

After reaching the Unification Realm, Gu An's Spiritual Power also changed, becoming stronger and more abundant.

His Divine Sense range was rapidly expanding, but he refrained from actively probing, fearing that he might disturb the Great Cultivators passing by above.

The number of Void Crossing Realm Great Cultivators had surpassed ten!

Gu An even saw Great Cultivators of the Ji Family from the Void Crossing Realm, which explained why the Ji Family dared to have a residence in the Supreme Sect, and also why that person had not appeared during Ji Xiaoyu's banquet.

After a short while longer, the increase in Gu An's Spiritual Power started to slow down.

This signaled that the breakthrough was nearing its end.

Gu An's heart gradually returned to calm.

The Life Span consumed by this barrier had exceeded a thousand years, but he wasn't distressed about it, as the Life Span Barrier had shielded him from the detection of over a hundred Great Cultivators.

Those he considered Great Cultivators had at least reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

And this was only one direction of the Supreme Sect; if he added up the Great Cultivators checking the other seven directions and cities, how many would there be?

The only thing that put Gu An's mind at ease was that he hadn't seen shadows of Great Cultivators from the Unification Realm, at least for now.

Although this couldn't definitively say that the Supreme Sect had no Unification Realm Great Cultivators, it did suggest that the Unification Realm stood at the pinnacle within the Supreme Sect.