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

Back in the Third Medicine Valley, a smile spread across Gu An’s face.

Just one night had passed, and he had already transformed from Ninth Level of the Divine Soul Immortal Realm to the Ninth Level of the Free Soaring Immortal Stage—a tremendous leap in power.

If it weren’t already morning, he might have pushed for another breakthrough.

The breakthrough had cost him nearly fifty million years of lifespan, leaving him with just over six hundred million years.

Still, he felt confident—there was hope he could break through once more.

Now that he’d reached the Free Soaring Immortal Stage, his perception of the Heavenly Spirit Great Realm became even sharper. He could now sense that both the Immortal Dynasty and the Holy Court had Free Soaring Immortals hidden among them. If a war between Free Soaring Immortals broke out, it could easily sweep across the entire world.

If he could surpass that stage, Gu An’s heart would be at ease.

Walking down from the Teleportation Platform, he looked up. Far above the universe, he saw a grey river in the void. He wasn’t inside the cosmos—it couldn’t be reached by flying upward but only by following the Dao laws.

The River of Destiny!

The place where Lu Han fell!

Gu An simply stared at it from afar—he had no intention of stepping into the River of Destiny just yet.

His gaze shifted to Wu Jue, who had rarely come looking for him. Naturally, Gu An went to greet him.

You Yingying was holding a rabbit. When she spotted Gu An in the distance, she blinked, then instinctively rubbed her eyes.

His clothes were the same as yesterday, same hair, same style—but Gu An felt… different.

She couldn’t describe the feeling. She just felt a strange urge to draw closer to him… but the longer she looked, the more she felt a pull to bow down.

The emotions were complex—impossible to put into words.

And it wasn’t just her. The other disciples who saw Gu An couldn’t help but look twice.

Gu An walked up behind Wu Jue just as he was listing examples of Liu Bei’s righteousness.

Wu Jue must’ve sensed something. He turned to see Gu An and immediately dropped his scowl.

“You’re finally back! Come, let’s drink!” Wu Jue grabbed his arm and pulled him aside.

Of course, Gu An didn’t refuse. He called out, asking An Xin to prepare drinks and food.

The two of them sat across from each other in Gu An’s pavilion.

“Gu An, I’ve reached the Integration Stage!” Wu Jue exclaimed proudly.

Gu An chuckled inwardly. Integration Stage? I only noticed after standing right behind you.

Though he’d suppressed his aura, it was only pressed to the Nascent Soul Stage, not fully hidden. That Wu Jue didn’t notice said a lot—this guy was too easily carried away. Hopefully, he wouldn’t cause trouble later on.

“For real? That’s… that’s amazing!” Gu An widened his eyes in exaggerated shock.

Seeing Gu An’s expression, Wu Jue puffed up even more. “Integration Stage at 421 years old, you know what that means?”

Gu An opened his mouth but said nothing. Sometimes silence says more than words.

He did know exactly what that meant—after all, wasn’t he a Free Soaring Immortal at 419?

He nearly asked, Do you even know what kind of power a 419-year-old Free Soaring Immortal has?

An Xin arrived just then, bringing the drinks and food upstairs. She overheard Wu Jue’s boasting and barely held back a laugh.

Showing off in front of my master? Seriously?

She set everything down and quietly left.

Wu Jue had purposely spoken loudly, yet An Xin didn’t react at all. He found that odd.

Gu An noticed too and silently blamed her for having no professional integrity—how could she break character that easily?

“I didn’t expect you to come this far. I always knew you were special, but I still underestimated you…” Gu An said sincerely, redirecting Wu Jue’s attention.

Wu Jue laughed. “If you hadn’t encouraged me back in the day, I wouldn’t have made it this far. You’ll grasp enlightenment too one day—you might still reach the Integration Stage.”

Gu An shook his head. “Not possible anymore.”

“What? Don’t say that. You gotta believe in yourself.”

Exactly—because I believe, I know it’s not happening, Gu An thought wryly.

He asked instead, “You think you can match An Hao or my Senior Brother Li now?”

Wu Jue’s eyes lit up. “I’m not sure, but they’ve always been my benchmark. I just don’t know how strong they really are. Once I surpass them in realm, I’ll challenge them.”

Oh wow, Gu An laughed to himself. You like cross-realm battles too?

He was amused, but he appreciated Wu Jue’s spirit.

Arrogance kills. Recklessness kills faster.

No matter how strong you are, you’re still mortal.

The two continued chatting about the future—mainly Wu Jue’s. Gu An played along like a pro, hitting every emotional chord just right.

The Third Medicine Valley bustled with lively energy, and so did the Taixuan Sect. No one realized what was happening far beyond the skies.

At that moment, beyond the celestial veil, many high-level cultivators had gathered. The weakest among them was at the Celestial Ascension Stage. All eyes were fixed on the Oblivion Domain.

Fu Shenxiu and Bai Ziyao of Mortal Peak were there too, along with a dozen other Celestial Ascension experts.

“The tension between the Immortal Dynasty and the Holy Court is unreal,” Bai Ziyao muttered.

Immortal spirits from the Dynasty and cultivators of the Holy Court stood on opposite ends, glaring at each other with overt hostility.

Fu Shenxiu looked toward the distance. “Let’s hope this anomaly makes them reconsider fighting—at least for a while.”

Bai Ziyao gazed upward and sighed. “The Heavenly Spirit Great Realm is vast, but compared to the Oblivion Domain, it’s still tiny. If not for Saint Heaven, the Heavenly Demons would’ve overrun us long ago.”

Fu Shenxiu turned to him. “You’ve been to the Oblivion Domain. Is it really filled with Heavenly Demons?”

“How could that be?” Bai Ziyao said softly. “We just call them that. Sure, there’s a Heavenly Demon Race, but we lump all life forms from that place under the same name. The Oblivion Domain is endless—I don’t even know how vast it truly is. Maybe it hides an entire Great Realm…”

His voice trailed off, eyes dimming at the memory.

While they discussed the Oblivion Domain, other sects were talking too, each sharing what they knew or had heard about the place.

Meanwhile, the culprit behind the celestial anomaly—Gu An—was just having drinks with a friend.

Late into the night, Gu An was on the move again.

The gap between Free Soaring Immortal and the next major realm was enormous. He worried that six hundred million years of lifespan still wasn’t enough.

He had to steal his way to ten billion.

Yes… one last time.

After reaching ten billion, he promised himself he’d stop. Even he felt shameful doing this.

To throw others off, he targeted Mortal Peak—this way, even they would be listed among the victims.

But then he sensed something.

A Mystic Celestial Immortal was cultivating on the main peak, wrapped in Mortal Peak’s fortune. Likely a returned elder from beyond the heavens.

Gu An only picked from the main peak’s herbs and then slipped away, but still ended up alerting the sect.

By dawn—

The Mystic Celestial Immortal stood before a pile of harvested mature herbs, silent for a long time.

Only when the sunlight fell upon him did he finally take a deep breath.

“This world… remains as unfathomable as ever…” he murmured.

Ten days later, Gu An successfully reached ten billion years of lifespan.

Now it was time—breakthrough!

He looked toward the heavens. Near the Heavenly Spirit Great Realm, countless powerful beings roamed the edges of the Oblivion Domain, making it hard to find a safe spot.

He couldn’t just go deep into the Oblivion Domain either—what if someone like the Black Profound Emperor was lying in wait?

The autumn wind rustled through the trees. Gu An sat on a boulder, staring at the sky through the gaps in the leaves.

The Blood Prison Grand Sage was lying nearby. An Xin was practicing the Treading the Path of Years Step.

Her steps were smoother than ever, each one filled with rhythm and flow. Even the Blood Prison Grand Sage was mesmerized.

He wanted to learn it too, but no matter how hard he watched, he just couldn’t grasp it.

He guessed this kind of divine ability had to be taught by his master directly.

Still, he didn’t ask. His current body wasn’t suited for divine abilities anyway. As long as he behaved, once his thousand-year mark came, he was sure he’d get his chance.

Gu An withdrew his gaze and looked overseas.

His herb-harvesting spree had indeed caused a stir. The sects who’d lost their treasures couldn’t find the culprit and had turned to the Holy Court.

The Holy Court compiled all the reports and sent out investigators.

Gu An overheard that some suspected it was tied to the celestial anomaly, and a few even linked it to a Heavenly Demon plot.

That made him laugh and cry at the same time.

The first part was accurate. The rest? Not so much.

Still, he wasn’t worried about getting exposed. After this final breakthrough, he’d stop stealing entirely—return to his old self and watch the world’s chaos from a distance.

A peaceful world wasn’t all good. Stability brought rigid rules, and those at the bottom found it nearly impossible to rise.

Breaking those rules attracted disaster.

The Heavenly Spirit Great Realm had long been carved up by major sects. Any place that nurtured Natural Treasures already had a sect camped nearby. There were very few truly unclaimed lands—either guarded by sects or watched by powerful demons.

Still, Gu An preferred peace over chaos.

Peace meant fewer opportunities, yes—but it also meant less danger.

If not for the Holy Court setting rules, the Seven Stars Spirit Realm would’ve destroyed the Taixuan Sect before Gu An could grow strong.

Because of those rules, the Seven Stars Spirit Realm couldn’t act too brazenly. Their dirty tactics had to remain in the shadows.

Suddenly, Gu An’s divine sense locked onto Zhu Xi at Falling Moon Divine Lake.

The world was vast, but among those he’d personally seen, only a handful had a 9,999-year lifespan limit before the Nirvana Stage—An Hao, Evil Emperor, Yang Jian, Blood Prison Grand Sage, Ji Xuanyu, and Zhu Xi.

The Evil Emperor, once the Leader of the Nightshade Sect, had been sealed beneath the Immortal King’s Crown and later crushed by Gu An.

Surely, there were others with the same lifespan limit out there—but they hadn’t appeared before Gu An yet.

Divine sense alone couldn’t trigger Lifespan Perception.

Zhu Xi was cultivating. Her realm hadn’t changed since he last saw her.

“What heights will this Primal Devouring Body reach?” Gu An wondered.

In the Heavenly Spirit Great Realm, Ancient Treasure Bodies were rare. Above them were Dao Bodies, then Sacred Bodies. The Primal Devouring Body was on par with the Primal Causal Body, standing even above the Sacred Body.

In terms of physique, Zhu Xi far surpassed An Hao and Yang Jian.

Of course, physique was just one part of talent. Take An Hao—his comprehension was just as terrifying.

The 9,999-year limit applied only to humans under the Nirvana Stage, not to the limits of talent itself.