Among all cultivators in the world, regardless of their sect or lineage, breaking through between each realm was an arduous undertaking.
Within a single realm, the three minor stages could be swiftly overcome in a short period, provided one possessed sufficient talent, cultivation techniques, and ample resources.
However, breakthroughs between major realms were far from simple.
Throughout the entire world, countless beings who embarked on the path of cultivation, whether gifted with extraordinary talent or blessed with profound opportunities and fortune, found themselves halted at this critical juncture.
This held true for both martial artists and cultivators alike.
Take, for instance, Zhao Wuhen, the patriarch of the Zhao family. In his youth, he was hailed as a martial arts prodigy, breaking through to the Skin and Flesh realm at a young age and reaching the pinnacle of the first realm within a mere decade.
Yet, as his vitality began to wane, he remained trapped before the threshold of the second realm, unable to take that final half-step despite his utmost efforts.
With his path forward seemingly blocked, he resorted to the idea of soul-possession, which allowed malevolent spirits to exploit his vulnerability.
Ji Yuan was acutely aware of the difficulty of breaking through realms. Despite his confidence in himself, he was prepared for the possibility of being stuck for years, diligently chipping away at the barrier.
However, this setback had, in a way, turned into a blessing. Although he had not yet fully broken through, once his internal injuries healed and his meridians were successfully mended, he anticipated his vital energy, essence, and spirit would merge, giving rise to spiritual power within him and allowing him to officially enter the Spirit Point realm.
"The imperial court will undoubtedly dispatch experts to scour this entire county," Song He stated solemnly after confirming Ji Yuan was temporarily safe. "In light of this, it is not suitable for Yu Yan to remain here to guard you. We must depart for Luohun Slope tonight."
In this lifetime, he had coincidentally revived by inhabiting the bodies of his descendants. Though a wisp of deathly aura remained in his soul, he was now indistinguishable from the living.
However, Zhou Yu Yan was still a ghost, and moreover, she had chosen to walk the path of the ghost. If discovered by the imperial court's experts, even if both he and his wife had clear consciences and had never committed any wicked deeds, it would undoubtedly lead to significant trouble.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, please return to Luohun Slope with peace of mind. Although my cultivation cannot be fully utilized, I still possess some means of self-preservation."
Against ordinary enemies in the Enlightenment realm, whether it was his long sword Yuanbao or his flying sword Xiaobai, he could rely on their accumulated spiritual energy. Should he encounter an unexpectedly formidable foe, he could always draw upon the lake of sword energy within his purple mansion.
As long as the opponent was not outrageously powerful, he would at most exacerbate his injuries, but his life would not be endangered.
"Furthermore, starting today, I will be entering seclusion to recuperate from my injuries and also to refine a few urgently needed medicinal pills."
He sighed, a look of pain flashing across his eyes.
The toll of the past few days had significantly depleted his reserves of medicinal pills. He had consumed precious pills without a second thought, and recalling it now made him want to stamp his feet in regret.
Those were his hard-earned wealth!
Seeing his pained expression, Song He and his wife exchanged glances, amusement evident in their eyes.
At the same time, they felt a sense of relief, noting that Ji Yuan, in this state, finally seemed like a young man. His usual excessive caution and precocious demeanor were rather unappealing.
Half an hour later, Song He dispelled the sound-isolating restriction and then departed the small hut.
Before leaving, he set up a defensive formation around the Taoist temple and handed the formation disk to Hui Xin, who had already awoken.
With all preparations complete, the couple left with peace of mind. After exiting the county town, one returned directly to Luohun Slope, while the other hurried towards the prefectural city hundreds of miles away.
After the Song He couple's departure, Ji Yuan conveyed some matters to his fifth senior brother, Guo Tao, and then announced his intention to enter seclusion for a period.
During his seclusion, apart from Zhao Yuebai, who would enter the hut daily to receive instruction on cultivation methods, even his master, Zhang Zhiya, was not to be disturbed unnecessarily.
Although everyone was worried, they did not voice their concerns. Zhao Yuansong and his group decided to stay at the Taoist temple for the time being.
The old Taoist priest specifically instructed Guo Tao to prepare a room. Since his disciples would likely be unable to enter the county town for the foreseeable future anyway.
Within the small hut, Ji Yuan sat before the brass alchemical furnace, the earthen stove blazing fiercely, radiating waves of heat.
Fortunately, the weather had already turned to autumn, so the heat was not oppressive. Instead, it felt comfortably warm against his skin.
Upon announcing his seclusion, he had already taken out some medicinal pills for healing, which Guo Tao then handed to Zhao Yuansong to administer to the severely injured Zheng Wanrong.
In front of the alchemical furnace, he held a spirit stone in his mouth and rapidly formed hand seals, refining each medicinal herb and extracting its essence. He then meticulously fused them together.
As night fell and the moon hung high in the starry sky, Ji Yuan spat out the spirit stone from his mouth, exhaling a long, weary sigh.
Despite having previous experience refining the Water God Pill, this alchemical process was still exceptionally challenging. The intricate steps and incantations were not the primary difficulty; rather, it was the severity of his internal injuries.
However, all had gone smoothly, with no errors occurring midway. It only required an overnight tempering with controlled heat, and this batch of Water God Pills would be successfully refined.
Looking at the batch of Water God Pills before him, Ji Yuan felt a tinge of melancholy. If not for this pill, his injuries would not have worsened. Yet, it was precisely because of this pill that he could save years of time, and upon healing, he would smoothly enter the second realm.
This interplay of fortune and misfortune made it difficult to definitively say which carried more weight.
After all, while cultivators did not possess the same urgency as martial artists to break through rapidly during their prime vitality, once their vitality waned, advancement became exceedingly difficult.
However, one's lifespan was finite. Achieving an earlier breakthrough would grant more years to strive for the summit, or even to risk reaching the heavens.
"Why dwell on such thoughts? Since it has already happened, I shall accept it."
Ji Yuan gave a self-deprecating smile and closed his eyes before the alchemical furnace.
The cultivation mantra of the Xuan Tian Dao Jing surfaced in his mind. He began to refine the remaining portion of the Water God Pill in his abdomen using the meager essence and energy he could muster.
As the pill was refined, a surge of incense and wish power arose, entering his purple mansion and soul. The remaining pure spiritual energy silently diffused into his limbs and bones.
By the time night passed, Ji Yuan had finished refining the remaining Water God Pills. As he opened his eyes, the dense watery aura within him receded, drawing deep into his physique and flesh.
A moment later, observing that the Water God Pills, which had been tempered overnight, still lacked a bit before they could be taken out of the furnace, he pondered briefly and then reached for a seven-story pagoda.
This pagoda was only a few inches tall and completely black as ink. Holding it in his hand, one could clearly see ferocious ghosts through the windows of the tower.
This was naturally the magic artifact previously held by Shen Lang. After his demise, Guo Tao had found it and handed it to Ji Yuan upon his awakening.
Now that Shen Lang was dead, this artifact was ownerless. However, being a demonic magic artifact, it was difficult for cultivators of other paths to refine.
"If possible, I should find an artifact refining master later to see if this can be reforged. At the very least, its demonic aura and the resentful spirits within the tower should be removed..."
Looking at the small pagoda in his hand, a complex expression appeared on Ji Yuan's face.
If possible, he naturally did not want to sell this artifact. After all, it was a memento from Shen Lang, and keeping it would serve as a reminder.
Putting aside the wicked deeds of that person, they still shared a memory that was difficult to forget.
"Master!"
A gentle voice from outside the room announced, "Zhao Yuebai!"
Ji Yuan put away his thoughts, tucked the seven-story demonic pagoda into his sleeve, and then slowly rose to open the door.
Soon after, the master and disciple sat opposite each other across a wooden table, their gazes meeting, creating a somewhat peculiar atmosphere.
Perhaps he himself had not anticipated suddenly acquiring a disciple. He had always thought that taking on a disciple would only happen when he reached an age comparable to his own master.
And although Zhao Yuebai had already accepted the reality, whenever he saw his master, who was not much older than himself, he would always feel a sense of strangeness.
"For the coming days, I shall explain the Xuan Tian Dao Jing to you," Ji Yuan said slowly after a long silence.
Although he had previously taught Zhao Yuebai the Xuan Tian Dao Jing and the circulation route of the cultivation technique, he had not delved into its deeper meanings. While rudimentary cultivation was possible, deeper understanding required constant study.
The advantage of having a lineage was the ability to draw upon the experience of predecessors, and even to receive direct instruction from a master, which could save considerable effort and prevent misunderstandings from leading one down the wrong path.
This was why solitary cultivators, even if they happened upon a cultivation technique by chance, found it difficult to progress far on their cultivation journey.
Indeed, most solitary cultivators, even if they miraculously obtained a profound Daoist method, would see it become increasingly distorted over time. Their disciples and descendants would end up with only fragmented remnants, far removed from the core tenets of the original technique.
Once on the wrong path, lucky individuals might discover it within a few years; for the unlucky, decades might pass before they realized they could not turn back.
Hearing this, Zhao Yuebai immediately sat up straight, his expression solemn and attentive, unwilling to miss a single word his master said.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan cleared his throat twice, recalling how his own master used to explain the Taoist scriptures to them. He then began to speak slowly, word by word.
As this was his first time explaining a cultivation technique to a disciple, and lacking prior experience, he could only convey his own understanding, starting from the basics and gradually progressing, using analogies for more difficult concepts.
Surprisingly, whether it was due to his excellent explanation or some other reason, Zhao Yuebai seemed to grasp it with ease, and the entire process went remarkably smoothly.
Initially, Ji Yuan suspected that Yue Bai was merely pretending to understand, putting on a facade of comprehension despite being confused.
However, as Ji Yuan continued his explanation, Yue Bai instinctively circulated the mantra in his mind, combining it with the annotations he had just heard and his own understanding. His aura began to rapidly condense.
The realm that had been forcefully elevated by the centuries of cultivation and vitality inherited from the old locust tree was rapidly stabilizing its foundation. In just over half an hour, he was already comparable to a cultivator who had been practicing for months.
In some aspects, he might even have surpassed them.
Under such circumstances, how could Ji Yuan fail to realize that he had truly found a treasure!
Earlier, he had only believed that with the "gift" left by the old locust tree after its failed soul-possession attempt, Zhao Yuebai might have the potential to reach the third realm in the future.
Now, it seemed that both he and Zhao Yuansong and the others had gravely underestimated his inherent talent.
After a moment of thought, Ji Yuan understood the reason. If Yue Bai lacked talent, he would not have been chosen by Zhao Wuhen and subsequently abducted from his birth parents.
When two hours had passed, the lecture finally came to a temporary close, having exhausted a significant portion of his insights.
Zhao Yuebai, on the other hand, had listened with rapt attention. Even as he left the hut, he was still in a daze, likely requiring several days to absorb these teachings.
As for whether he could fully absorb them and translate them into his own understanding, that would require even more time.
However, Ji Yuan had a faint premonition that that day would arrive soon.
"How can it feel like I've gotten myself into trouble by taking on a disciple?"
He sat cross-legged on the bed, a strange expression on his face.
Given the current trend, it was likely that within a month or two, he would reach a point where he had nothing more to teach, and his disciple's understanding would surpass his own.
To be honest, such a situation was not uncommon among cultivators, especially in major sects. Some exceptionally talented disciples could, in a short period, surpass their masters in both cultivation and comprehension of Daoist techniques.
However, this typically took years, or even decades, as even the most gifted individuals could not surpass decades of diligent practice in just one or two years.
But the situation between this master and disciple was somewhat different. While both possessed considerable talent, Ji Yuan had only been cultivating for just over a year, and a significant portion of his earlier efforts had been focused on alchemy and talismans.
This resulted in his own understanding of the Xuan Tian Dao Jing not being particularly profound. If this pace continued, his disciple would soon exhaust his existing knowledge.
"No, I am his master after all. I cannot be so ill-prepared that my disciple asks me questions I cannot answer!"
Ji Yuan muttered to himself, a look of determination appearing on his face.
Since he was unable to cultivate for the time being, he began to focus his mind on the contents of the Xuan Tian Dao Jing, immersing himself wholeheartedly and beginning to comprehend it meticulously.
This period of intense study lasted for several days. During this time, apart from refining two batches of pills for strengthening the foundation, he remained dedicated to studying the Xuan Tian Dao Jing.
It could be said that Ji Yuan had never exerted himself so diligently before. Under the strange pressure of fearing being surpassed by his disciple, his understanding of the cultivation technique deepened with each passing day.
The accompanying benefit was the increasing solidity of his realm. He gained a new layer of understanding of the Enlightenment realm and laid a strong foundation for the subsequent Spirit Point realm.
As Ji Yuan had predicted, Zhao Yuebai had indeed preliminarily absorbed and digested the insights within a few days. During another lecture a few days later, Ji Yuan was no longer the sole speaker; Zhao Yuebai also began to offer his own views and pose questions at appropriate times.
Furthermore, within just a few days, Yue Bai had thoroughly stabilized his early-stage Enlightenment realm and had even taken a significant step towards the middle stage.
While the profoundness of the Xuan Tian Dao Jing and the centuries of cultivation left by the old locust tree undoubtedly played a role, the most crucial factor was his exceptional talent—he was a true seed of Dao cultivation.