When I Achieved Sainthood, the Immortal Official Actually Called Me to Raise Horses!

The New Year had just passed, and all things in the world were coming back to life.

Gu An walked through the air, admiring the ocean scenery along the way.

Despite the growing rumors of an apocalyptic tidal catastrophe, the sea remained calm, showing no signs of impending disaster.

He spread out his divine sense, searching for a suitable place to break through. He had already traveled far from the mainland. His Infinite Free Step had carried him a hundred steps forward, and given his current cultivation, each step spanned a distance dozens of times greater than the mainland itself. This alone was enough to show how vast and remote this ocean region was.

The spiritual energy here was exceptionally dense, far surpassing that of the mainland. Moreover, the cultivation level of the oceanic demonic beasts was astonishingly high. He even spotted a Scattered Immortal Stage giant whale, half the size of a continent. If it opened its mouth, it could swallow the Land of the Three Dynasties in one gulp—an utterly exaggerated sight.

Here, the presence of human cultivators became exceedingly rare. The few he could sense were all at the Immortal Dao Realm.

Without reaching the Nirvana Stage, one was simply unqualified to set foot in these waters.

Finally, Gu An locked his gaze onto a massive island teeming with countless creatures. It was home to a force of hundreds of thousands of demons, most of whom were demon soldiers training on the plains. The strongest demon among them had reached the Scattered Immortal Stage, Second Layer.

Without alerting anyone, Gu An, a Heavenly Celestial Ascension Stage, Ninth Layer cultivator, silently infiltrated the forest. Settling beneath a tree, he activated his Lifespan Barrier.

He didn’t rush into his breakthrough immediately. Instead, he spread out his divine sense to scan the surroundings.

Within his detection range, he sensed the presence of Roving Immortals, but fortunately, there were no Heavenly Celestial Ascension cultivators.

Heavenly Celestial Ascension cultivators were rare no matter where they were. Mortal beings had little chance of ever encountering one—after all, those at this stage could leave this world entirely.

Gu An expanded his divine sense to its maximum range, but even then, he did not detect any Heavenly Celestial Ascension cultivators. Only then did he truly relax.

Although he couldn’t see them on the ocean’s surface, if he looked up at the sky, he could see them every day—figures streaking across the heavens like meteors.

Gu An withdrew his divine sense and summoned his status panel.

[Name: Gu An]

[Lifespan: 128/16,890,764]

[Physique: Profound Saint Body]

[Cultivation: Heavenly Celestial Ascension Stage, Ninth Layer]

Can I Level Up by Throwing Away Ten Million Years of Lifespan?

Advancing from Heavenly Celestial Ascension Stage, Eighth Layer to Ninth Layer had already cost him thirty thousand years of lifespan.

To reach an even higher realm, a single failure meant he had to wait at least another thirty thousand years before attempting another breakthrough.

Fail a hundred times? That would cost three million years of lifespan. The mere thought of it made him shudder.

If he could break through by burning ten million years of lifespan, he would consider himself lucky.

For this reason, he didn’t dare waste lifespan on improving his techniques or physique. He decided to brute-force his way through with sheer willpower!

Taking a deep breath, Gu An first invested a million years of lifespan to test the waters.

[You cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy for fifty thousand years. You attempted to break through to the Free Soaring Immortal Stage using your mastery of the Primal Heaven and Earth Art. You began your tribulation but failed to endure the Supreme Dao Reincarnation Profound Heavenly Tribulation—Breakthrough Failed.]

[You cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy for one hundred thousand years. You attempted to break through to the Free Soaring Immortal Stage, but once again failed the tribulation.]

Fifty thousand years per tribulation attempt?!

That was brutal!

Gu An stared at the repeated failure notifications, his heart pounding.

A million years of lifespan—wasted after only twenty failed attempts...

If it took five million years just to fail a hundred times, this was going to be a nightmare.

Feeling a surge of anxiety, he clenched his teeth and threw in five million years of lifespan!

Failure!

Failure!

Gu An couldn’t even be bothered to read the notifications carefully. As long as they didn’t grow longer, it meant all attempts had failed.

In the end, all five million years were wasted—he had failed another hundred times.

Breaking through to the Free Soaring Immortal Stage was truly impossible! No wonder he had never heard of anyone reaching this realm before. Tales of Heavenly Celestial Ascension cultivators were common, but there were no legends of Free Soaring Immortals.

Bringing up his status panel once more, he saw that he still had ten million years of lifespan left. That finally calmed his heart a little.

Five million more!

He refused to believe he couldn’t break through!

The failure notifications continued flashing before his eyes. Inside the Lifespan Barrier, there was no surge of spiritual energy. Above him, the tree leaves rustled in the wind, almost as if they were mocking him.

It was as if even the Lifespan Barrier itself was taunting him.

And yet... his second five million years were completely wasted again!

At this point, he had spent eleven million years of lifespan, failing two hundred and twenty times.

Finally, A Breakthrough!

Just when he was beginning to despair, he threw in another five hundred thousand years.

Finally, the notifications changed.

[You cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy for three hundred fifty thousand years. You attempted to break through to the Free Soaring Immortal Stage, endured the tribulation, and succeeded! Your cultivation advanced to Free Soaring Immortal Stage, First Layer.]

[You cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy for four hundred ten thousand years. Your cultivation advanced to Second Layer.]

[You cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy for four hundred seventy thousand years. Your cultivation advanced to Third Layer.]

Sixty thousand years per minor breakthrough?

This Free Soaring Immortal Stage was too cruel!

Finally, his Lifespan Barrier began to function properly. Spiritual energy surged toward him, and the land beneath his feet trembled as the entire island’s spiritual energy plummeted.

Panicked, countless oceanic demonic beasts surfaced.

The entire ocean boiled with chaos.

The island itself erupted into uproar as demon hordes howled in terror, shaking the heavens.

From above the forest, numerous shapeshifted demons soared past, mistaking this disturbance for an invasion.

Gu An closed his eyes, feeling the changes within his body.

He had finally broken into the legendary Free Soaring Immortal Stage.

Mastery of the Dao

To advance beyond the Heavenly Celestial Ascension Stage, one had to master the Five Elements Dao. Once perfected, one could comprehend the laws of heaven and earth.

Everything in existence was governed by invisible, untouchable laws.

To become a Free Soaring Immortal meant breaking free from the constraints of the world, gaining true transcendence.

After fully completing his transformation, Gu An vanished into a streak of light, reappearing outside a mansion in the dead of night.

A plaque above the entrance bore two words:

Ji Residence.

He had arrived not through teleportation, but through his Dao itself.

This was the power of a Free Soaring Immortal.

Gu An gazed at the Ji Residence before him.

Through his Dao-infused Golden Core, he had descended upon a place connected to his karma.

That’s right—descended, not teleported.

Teleportation, no matter how fast, left behind traces in space. Descent, however, was different. It ignored the very fabric of space, breaking free from the rules of the world.

He had arrived not as a traveler moving between locations, but as someone who simply existed wherever his Dao reached.

It was an utterly otherworldly experience.

Gu An stepped toward the entrance.

This was his birthplace—the place where he had grown up.

With one step, he crossed the threshold, now walking through the courtyard.

A lamp-carrying elder servant approached from the other side. The flickering light illuminated his wrinkled face, his old eyes filled with exhaustion.

The old man walked straight toward Gu An.

And then—he passed right through him.

Their bodies overlapped for a brief moment, yet the old servant remained completely unaware of his presence.

Gu An lowered his gaze, his eyes flickering with realization.

This was the true mystery of the Free Soaring Immortal Stage.

Mortal beings could neither perceive nor touch him.

No wonder there were no legends of Free Soaring Immortals in the world.

For the first time, Gu An truly felt invincible.