Realm Barrier

"My previous cultivation was at the fourth layer of the Xiantian realm, but now I've fallen back to the third layer."

With the blessing of the Heavenly Origin Earth Realm's talent, it was truly heaven-defying—crossing three layers in one go without any resources.

One had to know that before this, Fang Yuan had relied on a massive amount of resources to barely reach the fourth layer of Xiantian in two years.

"With talent like this, I don't need to waste time on raising my realm. I can focus on cultivating martial techniques and divine abilities to boost my strength."

Most cultivators placed their emphasis on cultivation base, after all, it was the source of power and the root of everything.

But Fang Yuan could clearly skip this tedious process.

There was no need to fight desperately for a few resources, nor to cultivate like an ascetic monk, day after day.

"As long as I cultivate quietly, in less than a year, my strength will undergo earth-shattering changes."

A year had three hundred and sixty-five days.

But for Fang Yuan, that meant three hundred and sixty-five years!

"How should I handle this pile of resources?"

Suppressing the excitement within him, Fang Yuan took out the medicinal herbs for repairing his dantian from his Qiankun pouch and fell into deep thought.

Before him were over a dozen spiritual herbs and five types of pills with different effects, all extremely precious.

If any one of them were to fall into the outside world, it would be enough to spark conflict between factions and create a storm of blood and carnage.

"For example, the Yellow Origin Flower has the effect of consolidating the foundation and nourishing the origin—it can be taken orally."

"Snake Tendon Grass can temper the skin and membranes; used in a medicinal bath, it has the effect of strengthening the physique."

Fang Yuan sorted the usable spiritual herbs and pills into categories, then picked up the Qiankun pouch and examined it closely.

An ordinary Qiankun pouch only had an internal space of one cubic meter, but the one in his hand had a full ten cubic meters!

"When I go out to train in the future, this will lighten my burden a lot."

Fang Yuan waved his hand, storing away the herbs for repairing his dantian, and pondered his future cultivation direction.

Many factors influenced a cultivator's strength, with cultivation base being the most critical, followed by the level of martial arts attainment, whether one had a spiritual treasure at hand, and so on.

As for cultivation base, with the Heavenly Origin Earth Realm's talent boost, he didn't need to worry about it for now.

But when it came to martial arts cultivation, Fang Yuan would have to take it step by step, carefully refining and improving.

Cultivating martial techniques was very time-consuming, but the boost to strength was equally obvious.

Mastering a powerful martial technique completely could even allow one to kill across realms.

The last time Fang Yuan had defeated Fang Yuan with a single sword strike, the perfected Gale Nine Swords had played a huge role.

"I've already cultivated Gale Nine Swords and Phantom Step to perfection."

Fang Yuan mused, "But the clan's ultimate martial art, Myriad Star Fist, is still stuck at the mastery level."

With that thought.

Fang Yuan paced around the courtyard, occasionally swinging his fists. Faint starlight fell upon him, adding a few traces of Dao rhythm.

The fist force of Myriad Star Fist imitated stars falling from the heavens—fast and powerful, unending, striking with precision.

This required extremely fine control over the true qi within his body.

Time slipped by in an instant.

Fang Yuan immersed himself in cultivation, clenching his fists. Starlight flickered faintly on his knuckles as he suddenly punched a tree that would take two people to wrap their arms around, the wind howling.

In an instant, branches and treetops shook violently, leaves fluttered down, and the trunk itself caved in a full half inch.

"Myriad Star Fist is truly domineering. I only mobilized a wisp of true qi just now."

Fang Yuan took a short rest and soon returned to bed to sleep.

For seven straight days.

Fang Yuan stayed indoors without stepping out, cultivating martial techniques at home, silently raising his cultivation base, and enduring the painful yet rewarding medicinal baths to temper his body.

[You have cultivated hard for one year. The true qi swirling around your dantian pillar has stacked five layers. Your true qi grows more condensed, and your cultivation base has reached the fifth layer of Xiantian!]

[You have cultivated hard for one year. You encountered a bottleneck midway, lacking insight, but you captured a thread of opportunity. Your cultivation base has reached the sixth layer of Xiantian!]

[You have cultivated hard for one year. You still lack insight and have insufficient realm experience to support further progress. Your cultivation base is difficult to advance, but your true qi has solidified.]

[You have cultivated hard for one year. You failed to find a breakthrough opportunity. Your cultivation base has not made any substantial progress, remaining at the sixth layer of Xiantian!]

Seven days.

Fang Yuan raised his cultivation base on schedule, spending most of his time diligently practicing Myriad Star Fist.

With the dual support of medicinal baths and pills, his injuries had fully recovered, and even his physical body had seen a slight improvement.

But in the last three days, his cultivation base had stalled at the sixth layer of Xiantian, unable to advance further.

The information on the panel either indicated a lack of sufficient realm insight or that he had not yet obtained an opportunity.

In short, it seemed he had run into a realm barrier.

Fang Yuan was surprised by this situation, but he accepted it very calmly.

At his peak, his cultivation had only reached the Fourth Layer of the Xiantian realm. Now, not only had he returned to his prime, but he had also leaped three layers—what reason did he have to be dissatisfied?

Realm barriers had always existed, especially when breaking through major realms. Many cultivators might spend their entire lives unable to take a single step forward.

From the Sixth Layer of Xiantian to the Seventh Layer was already considered a small threshold, after all, it was the difference between the mid-stage and late-stage.

"My cultivation growth is gradually slowing down now, but compared to others, I am still advancing at a remarkable speed."

There were many ways to achieve a breakthrough in realm.

Such as guidance from an expert, practical combat experience, or observing the battles of the strong...

As the young master of a noble family, Fang Yuan was not lacking in resources from the strong, and his advantages were fully displayed.

"I'll find time tomorrow to ask Father for some guidance."

"Are you really going to cultivate the Seven Wound Fist?"

On the eastern side of the Fang Family, a cluster of well-arranged buildings stood. In a brightly lit study, the Fang Family's Great Elder, Fang Zhongde, looked at Fang Yuan with some disbelief and asked in a deep voice.

"My mind is made up. I hope Father will grant my wish!"

Fang Yuan's gaze was firm, his back slightly bent, and he heavily clasped his fists toward his father.

The Seven Wound Fist was also one of the Fang Family's clan-guarding martial arts.

But it was different from the Myriad Star Fist.

This martial art could stimulate the practitioner's potential, unleashing multiplied power and allowing rapid progress in battle.

However, the drawback was that the Seven Wound Fist harmed both the user and the opponent!

Unless one had an exceptionally strong physique and had cultivated body-tempering techniques, the aftereffects of this martial art could only be slightly alleviated.

For a long time, Fang Zhongde did not speak.

"You have always been competitive since you were young, but there are some people you simply cannot catch up to."

Fang Zhongde's eyes flickered with emotion, his expression complicated, as if he saw his former self. He let out a long sigh.

"In the last battle, Fang Yuan was injured, and his cultivation was only at the Houtian realm."

After thinking for a long time, Fang Zhongde finally revealed the truth.

He truly did not want Fang Yuan to cultivate the Seven Wound Fist. Such a path was too difficult, and the cost was too great.

Hearing this, Fang Yuan's body trembled slightly, as if a strange chill surged into his heart.

But he still held firm to his resolve and asked stubbornly:

"Father, then why did you go to the Royal City Branch back then?"