Breaking the Barrier

Five years later.

The Dao of Qi Refining courtyard.

A powerful presence erupted from Fang Yu as he sat cross-legged before the tea table. Seven flame dragons appeared around him, coiling and circling until he looked like a fire god descended upon the world.

"Not bad. Those five Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pills I swallowed in one go weren't wasted!"

Fang Yu chuckled. With a thought, the Yuanchen Pearl in his sea of consciousness spun around, and the flame dragons vanished one after another. His presence also weakened rapidly, stopping only when it reached the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.

After five years of arduous cultivation and more than ten thousand Spirit Stones, he had finally broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, becoming a great cultivator at the Qi Refining Late Stage.

That was certainly worth celebrating, but he also sensed keenly that further progress would become extremely difficult. Even with no shortage of Spirit Stones, it would be hard to increase his cultivation speed.

His low-grade Spirit Root had a limit to how quickly it could absorb Spiritual Qi. He could use up ten Spirit Stones a day at most; any more, and he simply couldn't absorb them.

"At this rate, it'll take at least ten years to reach the Ninth Layer's Great Perfection."

Fang Yu murmured to himself, a trace of helplessness appearing at the corners of his mouth. Even with resources pushed to the limit and all the Spiritual Qi he needed, his low-grade Spirit Root was still extremely slow.

If he wanted to speed things up further, he would probably have to start popping pills. But pills that increased cultivation speed were all expensive, no cheaper than Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pills.

None of that was a problem, though. He now had the marketplaces of two worlds at his disposal, and the supplies he sold from the Metal Stone Immortal Sect were enough to buy all sorts of pills to increase his cultivation.

There was one thing, however, that no amount of money could buy: a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Although he had only just broken through to the Qi Refining Late Stage, he needed to start thinking about Foundation Establishment.

Over the years, he had more or less figured it out from various miscellaneous books and casual conversations with other cultivators.

Foundation Establishment was a massive threshold on the Dao of Qi Refining. Once a cultivator succeeded, their lifespan could increase to two hundred years, and they would be respectfully addressed as a Foundation Establishment Ancestor. They could dominate a region and, even within a Golden Core immortal sect, would be a lord in their own right.

But Foundation Establishment was extremely difficult. A cultivator had to pass the three trials of essence, Qi, and spirit, with no weaknesses in Qi and Blood, Law Power, or spirit, before they could attempt it. Otherwise, they would be gambling with their life. If Foundation Establishment failed, their body would die and their Dao would perish.

A Foundation Establishment Pill could not only increase the chance of success by roughly thirty percent, but also protect the Dantian and Qi sea if the attempt failed, preserving the cultivator's life.

Thus, aside from cultivators nearing the end of their lives who would gamble with them, it was best under normal circumstances to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But at present, only master alchemists in Golden Core sects-that is, the Cloud Spirit Sect-could refine Foundation Establishment Pills. They were also extraordinarily costly, at a hundred thousand Spirit Stones apiece.

More importantly, even with the Spirit Stones, one might not be able to buy one. From what Fang Yu had learned, the last time a Foundation Establishment Pill had found its way into an outside marketplace was thirty years ago. It was said that the pill had sold at auction for the astronomical price of one million Spirit Stones and had sparked such enormous chaos that a marketplace was reduced to rubble in the fighting.

He was already fifty-nine this year and would be sixty-nine in ten years. Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, he could only gamble his life on succeeding in a single attempt. But with his low-grade Spirit Root, his chances of success were practically zero.

Fortunately, there was no need to rush Foundation Establishment on the Dao of Qi Refining. Once I establish a Dao Foundation, I can prepare for Foundation Establishment at my leisure.

Yes, all of that applied to ordinary cultivators, but Fang Yu was different.

His chance of forging a yellow-grade flying sword was now one hundred percent. All he needed to do next was successfully forge a profound-grade flying sword, and he could establish a Molten Edge Flow Dao Foundation, leap to the rank of master of the External Alchemy Technique, and likewise increase his lifespan to two hundred years.

Thus, Fang Yu wasn't worried in the least.

"I advanced to the Qi Refining Late Stage today. I ought to celebrate properly!"

With that, Fang Yu got up and walked out of the courtyard, casting the distracting thoughts in his mind aside. He left through the gate and went to Liu Sanjie's nearby courtyard.

The gate was closed, but when Fang Yu approached, it opened automatically, and seductive music drifted out.

Fang Yu entered the courtyard and saw three fellow practitioners sitting at a jade table, watching Seventh Sister Liu dance in the courtyard.

"Darling Li, you're here~~~"

A voice like a silver bell rang out. Liu Sanjie, who had been keeping the others company at the jade table, rose to greet him. She hooked her arm through his and led him to a seat at the table.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you came at just the right time. What do you think of Seventh Sister Liu's dancing?"

"Hmm, Fellow Daoist Li has broken through..."

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Li. You'll have to treat us today..."

Fang Yu sat down and, listening to the fellow practitioners, raised his wine cup. "I wasted so many years before finally breaking through today. What's there to congratulate me for..."

"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Li just doesn't want to pay for a treat!"

The others immediately began laughing and joking.

Fang Yu bantered with the fellow practitioners he occasionally ran into while watching Seventh Sister Liu dance.

After all these years, he was naturally no longer the only kun cultivator at Liu Sanjie's place. Four more had arrived one after another: Fourth Sister Liu, Fifth Sister Liu, Sixth Sister Liu, and Seventh Sister Liu, who had only recently arrived.

Before long, the dance ended, and Seventh Sister Liu walked over gracefully. "Darling Li, did you come to see me today?"

Fang Yu turned his hand over and took out four Spirit Stones, stuffed them into Liu Sanjie's hand, then got up, scooped Seventh Sister Liu into his arms, and carried her toward a room.

"Today's my treat!"

The other fellow practitioners all laughed at the sight.

"Fellow Daoist Li is as impatient as ever!"

"Ah, looks like I won't get a chance to enjoy Seventh Sister's charms today!"

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Li..."

The next day.

After Seventh Sister helped Fang Yu dress and wash up, he went into the courtyard and sat down at the jade table.

A bowl of refreshing lotus seed congee was brought over shortly afterward.

Fang Yu picked up a jade spoon and gently scooped a spoonful into his mouth. The cool, soft, and glutinous texture made him nod repeatedly.

"This congee is good. Prepare a portion for me; I'll take it with me later!"

The petite Seventh Sister Liu immediately nestled against him. "If you like it, Darling Li, I'll bring you a portion every day."

"Hehe!" Fang Yu put an arm around her waist. "If you came every day, I couldn't handle it!"

"Darling Li, you do know how to joke... Rumble..."

As she spoke, a muffled thunderlike sound suddenly rang out, and the whole ground shook. The lotus seed congee on the jade table sloshed right out of the bowl.

"What's going on..."

Fang Yu sprang to his feet. His Law Power stirred, lifting his body into the air, and his gaze turned instinctively toward the source of the sound.

A white pillar of light had appeared on the distant horizon, piercing through heaven and earth. At first glance, it looked as though a great hole had been torn in the sky.

"Some treasure may have appeared!"

The next moment, Seventh Sister Liu broke free of Fang Yu's embrace. "Darling Li, would you like to come investigate with us?"

Fang Yu glanced at the other kun cultivators and fellow practitioners coming out of the rooms and shook his head. "I won't be going!"

"Then please make yourself at home, Darling Li!"

Seventh Sister Liu went to join the others. They then opened the courtyard's restriction and headed in the direction where the white pillar of light had appeared.

Fang Yu also left the courtyard and rose high into the air. It seemed that the cultivators throughout the marketplace had been roused, as streaks of escaping light swept across the sky like shooting stars, heading toward the white pillar.

Fang Yu actually wanted to go and see what fortuitous opportunity it was, but he held himself back.

With two worlds at his disposal, he already had the greatest fortuitous opportunity. Whatever opportunity had suddenly appeared, it didn't matter to him. Until he knew what it was, he certainly wouldn't risk going over.